


blow me (one last kiss)

by Kamiizumi



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Dom/sub Undertones, Friends With Benefits, Light Bondage, M/M, Minor Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Smut, jisung's sexual awakening: the fanfic, minsung - Freeform, minsungbingo, really raunchy smut, university au with SUPERPOWERS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:13:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 40,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25916407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamiizumi/pseuds/Kamiizumi
Summary: When Jisung thinks about superpowers, he normally thinks about muscular men and women in flashy outfits zipping and zooming about fighting supervillains with equally flashy superhuman feats. Laser eyes, super strength, time travel, inhuman reflexes…this was the stuff of comic books and that really popular shounen anime that he needs to catch up on sometime. So perhaps it was destiny that he happened to be drawn to the Superhero Manga Appreciation Club’s booth at the club faire, with Chan’s smiling face greeting him under the awning. Not without dragging along Felix, Hyunjin, and Seungmin, of course.Things seemed idyllic up until he met the boy in psychology class with the most tantalizing, secret-keeping smile...and the masked marauder stalking the university grounds.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 31
Kudos: 307
Collections: MINSUNG BINGO: Round One





	blow me (one last kiss)

**Author's Note:**

> hey lmao this is my grand return to the @minsungbingo and i could not be more happy to be coming back with this absolute BEHEMOTH of a fic. this was kind of a struggle to work with, especially with the current situation at hand, but i still hope that you sit back and enjoy everything ive got to offer :)
> 
> prompts: au - superpowers | friends with benefits | hand jobs | grinding

“So, first order of business.”

Chan’s grin is unflappable for someone who manages a glorified manga fanclub, but his smile is genuine when he surveys the room and its six other inhabitants. The rest of the club members stare at him with unenthusiastic disinterest, but Chan continues regardless.

“Welcome to the first meeting of spring semester – “

“When do we get to use our powers?” Jeongin interrupts, independent of the hand he’s raised in order to get Chan’s attention.

The older boy chuckles sheepishly. “Uh, not quite yet, Jeongin, we have to properly document that first and then get you your suit – “

“I still think it’s kinda funny that we have to _document_ our powers when this whole club’s purpose is to try and stay hidden.” Jisung laughs nonchalantly upon interrupting, prompting Changbin to jab him in the arm. “Ow!”

“Don’t interrupt Chan hyung,” the older boy quips, before nodding back to Chan. “As you were saying?”

Jisung hears both snickering behind him and quickly turns around to glare at both Hyunjin and Felix; the two feign their amusement by looking away, but the laughter is still stuck on their tightened lips. Turning back to Chan with a conceding smile, he lets the older boy finish much of his spiel for the beginning of the meeting.

“ _Anyway_ , you’ll have to get your $200 deposit in first, Jeongin, but that leads me to my _next_ topic…” Chan chuckled and grinned at the freshman. “Everyone, welcome Jeongin as the newest member of the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_!”

Everyone begins to cheer earnestly and smile for perhaps the first time in the meeting thus far.

“Yeah, welcome to _SMAC_!” Felix cheers as he reaches over and claps the younger boy on the shoulder.

Changbin shakes his head disapprovingly and feigns a headache. “When is he gonna stop calling us that?” he mutters as the others are crowding around the youngest member in the room.

“Y’know, you could be a really good asset for missions once you get your suit from Hana,” Seungmin mentions quickly.

“Suit?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s what the $200 deposit is for,” Chan quickly replies, and Jeongin’s face becomes ever brighter. “But before we jump around too much, let me finish this briefing, if for Innie’s sake.”

The clamor in the room settles to a hush while Jeongin continues looking on with bright intrigue.

“So you’ve all heard this spiel before. You pay for the suit, we document the extent of your abilities – within the capacity of this secret club – and we go out and we kick some ass.”

“Petty squabbles outside the corner mini-mart don’t really count as kicking ass,” Seungmin interjects, but Changbin is quick to shoot him a glare from his seat at the front of the room.

“…Okay, _yes_ , we haven’t had any actual serious threats happening on campus, BUT. If and when that happens, we need to be properly ready for that. After all, I’m responsible for any harm that ever befalls any of you. Sorry, Binnie.”

“ _Aish_ , save it, Chan.” Changbin grumbles and crosses his arms. Everyone in the room save for Jeongin seems too aware with the evident downsides of the young man’s power.

“As usual, I will be assigning patrols and scheduling training sessions for all of us here. Besides, I think we could afford to lab a little bit with Jeongin’s power, from what you all remember from his initiation.”

Felix exhales in the most satisfied fashion and leans out of his chair eagerly. “God, that was so _cool_! We all thought you were fucked when the bowling balls started falling, and then you _shattered_ and it was like ‘what the fuck?!’ but then, _no_ , you were right behind us the entire time!”

Jisung grins and rubs his chin like a mastermind. “Illusion powers. _Finally_ someone might be able to beat Seungmin in this club.”

“That’s a tall order, Jisung. Not that you would know anything about that,” Hyunjin interrupts, his arm already slung around Seungmin and a taunting smirk on his lips.

“Shut up, _Frozone_.”

“Okay, _Pikachu_.”

When Jisung thinks about superpowers, he normally thinks about muscular men and women in flashy outfits zipping and zooming about fighting supervillains with equally flashy superhuman feats. Laser eyes, super strength, time travel, inhuman reflexes…this was the stuff of comic books and that really popular shounen anime that he needs to catch up on sometime. So perhaps it was destiny that he happened to be drawn to the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_ ’s booth at the club faire, with Chan’s smiling face greeting him under the awning. Not without dragging along Felix, Hyunjin, and Seungmin, of course.

But this wasn’t just any ordinary club. By some stroke of fate, it just so happened that Chan, the club president, and Changbin, the secretary, were bound to the four of them in the most frivolous of ways. Of course, as a freshman, one was more inclined to branch out and try new things, and that included agreeing to meet in the football field at night per Chan’s instructions on the “club recruitment email”.

Jisung still remembers wandering inside the empty football field with the other three in tow; between Felix’s natural excitement, Hyunjin’s skittishness, and Seungmin’s rightful apprehension, Jisung was certain that they’d just be fine. And then they found out what _hazing_ was, or at least, the way Chan, a _superhuman_ , would call it.

After the harrowing experience (Chan froze time, tossed a series of sharp and heavy objects into the air above the four of them, and unfroze time just to see if they would react in the way that he expected of them), the four freshmen discovered their latent superhuman abilities. For starters, Seungmin managed to keep the falling hazards in place with a burst of telekinetic power. The sheer shock of the moment led to the remaining boys manifesting their powers in tandem; the energies of fire, ice, and electricity for Felix, Hyunjin, and Jisung, respectively. Thus did their fledgling superhero careers take off.

Except not really.

The actual first meeting of the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_ did occur, and it was there that Chan dished about all the knowledge he had regarding all their powers, amongst other things. Apparently, they had all wished, in some way or form, to have superpowers or become a superhero when they were younger, on the night that the comet _Levanter_ shot past Earth fifteen years ago. Not only did they all gain untapped supernatural abilities as a result of that event, but they developed something of a _sixth sense_ for others just like them.

Amongst the four freshmen, it hadn’t been much of an odd sense considering they were all stuck like glue since childhood. But Jisung felt that same feeling emanating from Chan when he first met him at the club faire (he called this his _friend sense_ ; Hyunjin commented that he’d get himself killed if he followed his _friend sense_ too much). With Chan also feeling that aforementioned _friend sense_ amongst the four of them, it had only been natural to see if they really were the real deal.

“Patrol this week will be posted on our official _Discord_ server tonight, which Jeongin will be invited to as well. You don’t get to join patrols for the next two weeks, Innie, but don’t let that hamper your excitement.”

“It’s also boring as all hell,” Jisung mutters, and both Felix and Hyunjin are snickering beside him. The sense of accomplishment drops from his face when Changbin is again burning holes into his being with his death glare. For that, Jisung was glad his power wasn’t laser eyes.

“ _Anyway_ , that concludes much of today’s meeting,” Chan continues after giving Jisung a similar look. “No training tonight because the semester just started and I’m gonna give y’all a week to get that settled into your heads. Time for our weekly outing at the local café!”

* * *

“What’s your schedule for the semester?” Seungmin nonchalantly questions Jisung before taking a sip out of his strawberry smoothie.

“Well…I already told you guys about how I got waitlisted for a few of my classes during enrollment so I had to resort to my _third_ backup schedule.”

“And which one is that one again?” the taller boy asks, without sparing a look toward the blonde.

Jisung briefly shoots him a glare before pulling out his phone and swiping to the notes app. “Let’s see…okay, here; this semester I’m taking three of my GE’s instead because that one public speaking class got waitlisted.”

“So what’s different on this one?”

“I’m taking that, uh, human sexuality class I mentioned last semester.” Jisung grins like he’s hit a gold mine, and Seungmin laughs derisively instead.

“Jisung, that’s a _psychology_ class. You’re not doing this just because you’re a _virgin_ , are you?”

“No, absolutely not!” He pouts at Seungmin and takes a long sip of his oreo-laced milk tea, such that his cheeks fill up the entire way. “I…just think it’s cool. And I actually like psychology.”

“You also almost failed psychology in high school because you slept through the whole thing. Besides, you can just _ask_ me instead of trying to put my relationship with Hyunjin through scientific basis.”

“I’m just _curious_! You two hitched basically overnight – “

“ – over _winter break_ – “

“ – _overnight_ , and then you drop bombs in conversation like ‘God, Hyunjin’s dick is so _small_ ’ or ‘did you know he accidentally creamed himself in class today’ – “

“ – _please_ speak louder, I don’t think the entire café has heard you.”

“ _Point being_ ,” Jisung reiterates, while levelling a stare with the taller boy (and simultaneously ensuring no one else, not even the other club members heard them). “Yes…I am a bit curious, but I think it could be a fun class. If you can drop turds like that in regular conversation, then maybe so can I.”

“And conveniently, it fulfills one of our GE requirements since you don’t wanna bother with the class about the history of American sports, right?”

Jisung grimaces at him and laughs. “Do I _look_ like a football player?”

“You _talk_ like one.”

The smaller of the two simply sticks their tongue out, and before anyone else gets a word in wise, Chan and a few of the other club members are congregating around their table.

“Yeesh, you two were talking up a storm again and I was worried someone had gone and started a fight.” Chan chuckles lightly and pulls up a chair next to the immaculately small table.

“And for once, it isn’t me that picked a fight with Jisung,” Hyunjin comments with a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Oh, it was nothing important. Just two pals jeering with each other,” Jisung replies, his cheeks already stretched into a grin that’s a few centimeters too wide.

“ _Uh huh_.” Hyunjin raises an eyebrow at him but decides to pull up a chair as well. The other three club members resort to dragging over another table instead and finally all seven of them are huddled around.

“So,” Chan begins, clapping his hands eagerly on his lap in that way that everyone understands is a preamble to either a hare-brained scheme or a well-intentioned suggestion. “Jeongin was a bit curious and asked if we could find a time to showcase our…abilities before he gets to go on patrol.”

“And especially because patrols hardly result in us getting to display our talents anyway,” Felix laments, drawing a _tch_ from Changbin.

“Easy for _you_ to say.” The older boy grumbles and returns his attention to Chan.

“Is everyone available to meet up possibly next Wednesday night, around 11:00? We’ll sneak into the football field again, and _this time_ I’ll remember to bring the fire blanket.”

Felix breaks out into a grin and starts clapping like a seal.

“I don’t see why not. I think it’d be fun if Innie could show us a bit of what he could do as well,” Hyunjin replies as he reaches over and gently pinches the softness of Jeongin’s cheek.

“I suppose I can finish a chunk of my homework before then if I have any,” Seungmin adds. “Can’t say the same for Jisung.”

“Hey!”

Jisung may have been lucky to have stuck it through childhood all the way to now with just him, Hyunjin, Felix, and Seungmin, but he was even more blessed now to have a group of very _special_ friends by his side. Even if Jeongin had been recruited over the winter break, he meshed too well with the rest of them; not to mention the versatility that his powers offered their fledgling team.

They weren’t the league of superheroes he’d dreamed of as a kid, but hopefully they would get to that at some point in the future. Even Jisung wasn’t sure of who else might have made the same wish on the comet _Levanter_ all those years ago…but he loves a surprise.

* * *

The lecture hall for his 1:00 PM psychology class is more packed than he had imagined, and despite his best efforts to try and arrive early to get a good seat, Jisung settles for a seat smack dab in the center of the large hall, if a bit close to the back. It’s Jisung’s first time in one of these giant auditoriums, having been confined to the smaller classrooms for the entirety of his freshman year and the previous semester. Jisung slides his beanie off and ruffles his hair to put some life back into his blonde locks.

Just seconds after pulling his iPad and matching pen out of his backpack, a shiver runs down his spine. _Wow, is the AC just really strong in here? Am I sitting under a vent?_ Jisung tugs on his jacket and squirms in his seat; maybe he should move and –

“Is this seat taken?”

The nonchalant voice rouses him from his thoughts and Jisung tilts his head up to see a pair of eyes staring inquisitively back at him behind thin-framed glasses.

Jisung is dumbfounded for a few seconds; the person – the young _man_ – eyeing him is…beautiful, to say the least.

“…xcuse me? Hello?”

“O-Oh! No, go right ahead,” Jisung stammers, following up with a sheepish chuckle as the young man quietly settles in beside him. He makes a concerted effort to scoot his belongings away because the aura radiating off of the attractive boy is something short of intimidating.

The blonde coolly breathes as he turns on his iPad, the screen illuminating to a picture of him, Hyunjin, Felix, and Seungmin smiling brightly at the camera. Even after opening the notes app and readying his pen for the beginning of the lecture, Jisung can’t help but take a few sly glances at the stranger sitting beside him.

The stranger silently unpacks his messenger bag, opting to pull out a thin, black laptop in lieu of any actual writing instrument. Even if their short-lived and trite conversation already ended, Jisung finds himself continuously looking back at the stranger. _My God, this guy is hot_ , Jisung thinks frantically, slowly burning the young man’s sharp features and shiny black hair into his mind. Not to mention how cute he looks with his round spectacles and that dangling piece of silver on his left earlobe.

Jisung blinks in surprise when he swings his laptop open and the screensaver is a picture of trio of cats.

“Can I help you?” The stranger mutters without even glancing at Jisung, and the blonde almost jumps out of his seat.

“O-Oh, um. Those cats…they’re really cute, heh.”

Jisung musters the best smile he can manage in such an awkward interaction. The stranger _finally_ looks at him before returning his eyes to his laptop like Jisung hadn’t even said a single word. Just when he thought the conversation would never go anywhere, the blonde spots the smirk tugging at the corners of the stranger’s lips.

“…They’re stuck at home with my parents at the moment.” A smile returns to Jisung’s cheeks when the stranger tilts his head up to look at him.

“Name’s Jisung, by the way.”

“…Minho.” Minho’s smile is small but the way his eyes are lidded when he locks eyes with Jisung already betrays much of his personality; Jisung isn’t deterred in the slightest and makes sure to scoot even closer in his already compact seat.

Two minutes until class starts and the professor has yet to enter the lecture hall. The large space is naturally abuzz with chatter here and there. Jisung digs his fingers into his armrest while leaning closer to Minho.

“So…what are you majoring in?”

“Computer science,” Minho answers without missing a beat. “And you?”

“Psychology.” Jisung stops himself and chuckles sheepishly. “…Or rather, _trying_ to get into the psychology major. I’m not very good at this staying awake during lectures thing.”

Minho tears his eyes away from the blank document open on his laptop screen and gives Jisung a taunting look. “…Do you want me to be a good neighbor and pinch you every time you fall asleep? Or would you like me to be a friend and let you snore in class?”

Jisung’s eyes grow wide and he stifles a laugh behind one of his oversized sleeves. “I think you and I are gonna get along just fine, classmate.”

“I hope you’re right,” Minho murmurs with a crafty smile on his lips as he returns his attention to his laptop. The professor has now arrived and everyone is quick to settle down as lecture officially begins for the semester.

* * *

Because the first day of class is usually laxer than any other time in the semester and coupled with the fact that his professor is actually a cool fellow, Jisung manages to get in more snippets of conversation in with his attractive seatmate than he would have imagined. Granted, the blonde didn’t find out _everything_ about the attractive young man, besides his penchant for dangly, silver earrings and how that black sweater of his didn’t do much to hide his physique.

Lee Minho was a fourth year (and therefore, two years older than him) and transferred from community just this semester. Computer science was one of the major draws for him, therefore it took a good deal of extra effort for him to transfer to a private university such as this one. In addition, Minho also came from a middle-class family and got accepted on a scholarship, unlike Jisung and the other wealthy members of the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_.

As much as Jisung would have liked to invite the older boy to join him and Seungmin on what would be the first of their Monday lunch dates, Minho, unfortunately, had a computer lab to attend right after. The older boy promptly bid him goodbye as soon as class ended, capping off their first class together with a smirk tugging on his lips and a view of his broad shoulders disappearing amongst the crowd of students also exiting the room.

“Wow, first day of lecture and you’ve met the first guy you’ve wanted to bone since coming to university,” Seungmin deadpans as he spoons some of his parfait into his mouth.

“Mind you, we’re surrounded by _nerds_ at this university.”

“Jisung, _we’re_ nerds. We’re part of the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_ , for God’s sake. And the guy you’re talking about right now is a comp-sci major.”

“A _hot_ one.”

“You’re talking in circles,” Seungmin reminds him, before taking another bite of his strawberry parfait.

“But I do that _all the time_ ,” Jisung retorts. He quickly realizes that he hasn’t touched much of his cheesecake and decides to take a massive spoonful. “ _Ewyway_ , mehbe thakinh thith clath ith – “

“Jisung, swallow your food.”

“ _Sowwy_.” The blonde chews the mouthful and swallows it down before resuming. “As I was saying, maybe taking this class is going to end up benefiting me more than I thought. You know he said he would keep me awake during lectures?”

Seungmin stifles a laugh and crosses his arms. “…Jisung, I’m very concerned for you as a friend _because_ you’re a psychology major. But if this guy is gonna help you pass your classes in a way that doesn’t involve you copying his test answers, then I’m all for it.”

Jisung sighs with mock dejection and smiles warmly at the other boy. “Your support is always welcome, Minnie.”

Seungmin scrunches his nose as the corners of his lips turn up. “Well, I should be heading out now; I have an engineering lab in ten minutes. Try not to hunt this Minho guy down while I’m gone?”

“Eat my ass, Seungmin.”

“I won’t, but hopefully someone will.” Seungmin’s eyebrows pulse with intrigue before he leaves the table with his bag and his parfait in hand.

Jisung ruminates upon the benefit of sitting by his lonesome at the now-empty table or retreating back to his dorm before his next class in two hours; the result would be the same with him just pondering too deeply about Minho and his shiny hair and his sharp and angular features.

_Guess I really have to stay awake during lecture now, huh?_

* * *

The rush of the beginning of the semester forces Jisung back into the general academic workload loop. Between a three hour lecture on Monday nights (wherein he was _immediately_ paired off with another student for the semester long group report) and four back to back classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays stretching from eight in the morning to one-thirty in the afternoon. Needless to say, Jisung’s post-lunch (it was a microwaved pepperoni _Hot Pocket_ ) nap immediately surpasses the one hour time limit he’d set on his phone; he suspects this might end up being a common occurrence.

He’s almost forgotten all about the handsome stranger in his sexual psychology class until he’s once again seated six rows away from the back of the room. Jisung is in the middle of unpacking his iPad when that familiar, faint tingle runs down his spine, momentarily stunning him until –

“I hope I don’t have to ask you again if this seat is taken.”

Jisung shudders and turns to his right; Minho is regarding him with a look of disdain while putting down his bag. The blonde is unsure if he should be concerned that he’s offended the older boy, or if this is just another one of Minho’s mysterious quirks that he’s yet to crack.

“You alright? You look like shit, to be frank.” Minho’s tone is blunt, but Jisung is perceptive enough to realize he’s joking.

And to be fair, after waking up from his “nap” at around seven o’clock, the first thing Jisung did was use the bathroom and change into pajamas, before heading back to bed. His hastily combed hair and the oversized, overly comfortable, fire truck red hoodie he was wearing now was testament to just what over thirteen hours of sleep looked like.

Jisung beams at the older boy, his eyes nearly disappearing behind the apples of his cheeks. “Nah, I just got a good night’s sleep is all. Maybe now I won’t be falling asleep during lecture.”

Minho chuckles dryly and looks down at his laptop. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

The lecture begins with the professor diving into a review of cultural expectations regarding sexuality, starting with the 1800s. Just as their professor warned them about him going deep (pun unintended) into content and material of a very provocative nature, it really shouldn’t have been surprising as the lecture swiftly segued into the topic of unhinged promiscuity between genders.

Jisung knows sex; virginhood be damned, he watches porn, has read some decent amount of BL manga here and there, and he’s got a good idea of what he likes and doesn’t like. Or at least, he believes he does.

He’s nineteen years old, turning twenty in the fall, and while the stuff he sees on the giant projector is not the craziest stuff he’s seen (yet), it does send his mind on an unprovoked rollercoaster ride. Seungmin _has_ been on his case about getting laid, perhaps because Jisung won’t stop talking about all his possibilities. Now, in this lecture hall with a hundred and fifty other people, the only person running through Jisung’s mind was the impish young man sitting right next to him.

Jisung thinks he’s blowing this out of proportion when he’s only known the guy for a day. However, one glance at Minho confirms that: _yes_ , this guy really was so attractive. His gray tweed jacket sits squarely on his broad shoulders and more than fits well with his thin-rimmed glasses, while he’s traded his dangly earrings for a pair of silver hoops on his left ear. His hair is a tad messier than it was on Monday morning, but Jisung decides that a bit of imperfection goes a long way anyway.

Having a type is something that Jisung’s never really thought about, despite his assurances that he was well aware of his preferences. But, seeing the older boy now, being the perfect combination of standoffish, studious, and stunning…it was doing wonders for him.

“…You really like staring at me, do you?” Minho mutters under his breath with his eyes not even leaving his laptop screen. Jisung flinches and almost drops his tablet, but his pen clatters to the floor, albeit not loud enough to disrupt the sanctity of the class.

Before Jisung could even shift in his seat, the older boy is already moving over to reach for his tablet pen and returns it to him without much fanfare.

“T-Thanks,” the blonde mutters, but Minho is already typing away at his keyboard, eager to finish up the current page of notes on the screen. Jisung sighs and stares back at the blank page on his tablet screen.

“Perk up, will you? You don’t want to fall behind on the notes.”

The words coming out of Minho’s mouth are enough to draw the sophomore’s attention back, and when he does, Jisung sees the smirk tugging at the corners of Minho’s lips once again.

Whether Minho was actually a dick or this was his way of taunting and teasing Jisung, the younger didn’t seem to mind it. He smiled inwardly and resumed taking notes with renewed vigor.

* * *

By some miracle or perhaps the hunger building in his stomach, Jisung musters the courage to swap numbers with Minho before the latter leaves for his comp-sci lab. _For the end of the semester report and maybe studying for exams_ , Jisung claims, but the way Minho smirks tells him that the older boy was already expecting this question anyway.

The younger boy secretly wishes that Minho was _gifted_ like the rest of them; perhaps being admitted to Chan’s secret club would have given Jisung the opportunity to hang out with him more often and find out the method behind Minho’s infallible poker face. Jisung just never knew what to expect from him, and just when he thought he’d finally pissed off the older student, the corners of Minho’s lips curl up like he and everyone else in the room knew a secret that Jisung didn’t. Besides, Minho was geekish enough to be a comp-sci major, but not geek enough to be joining the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_.

But Jisung has his number now. And he at least confirmed for himself that the older boy didn’t seem to dislike him.

“Hm, I was hoping for something juicier, to be honest.” Jisung grimaces at the back of Seungmin’s head as the taller of the two leads the way to the football field.

“Well…we have yet to actually have normal conversation because we haven’t had time outside of class to talk.”

“You’re telling me you got his number and you haven’t even texted him since?”

“I _told_ him I wanted to exchange numbers for like…school stuff. Like our class report at the end of the semester or studying for midterms. I don’t wanna push it, y’know?”

Seungmin laughs and turns so that he’s instead facing Jisung and walking backwards. “Han Jisung, you’re so dry, and _I’m_ the one dating Hyunjin.”

Jisung scoffs and pouts. “I dunno if I should be insulted for myself or for Hyunjin.”

“You said that you know he’s teasing you, right? Just message him, for God’s sake. I’m sure he’s expecting you to text him anyway because I wouldn’t accept a bs reason like _schoolwork_ from _you_ of all people.” Seungmin smirks and turns around as he lets Jisung step up to pace with him.

“We’ll see,” Jisung sighs as he shoves his hands into his pockets. For as excited as he is about finally getting to dish out some of his powers with the others, the drawbacks of meeting up with the others in an empty football field on a wintry January evening are beginning to surface. “I just don’t wanna push my luck if he’s not interested in…y’know, taking it _there_.”

“Fair enough.” Seungmin concedes, and they decide to walk in comfortable silence. At least, until the chattering of Jisung’s teeth catches the taller boy’s attention. He chuckles and offers a hand to Jisung, who takes the opportunity to grab Seungmin and link their arms.

“Sometimes I wish I had Felix’s power instead.”

“I don’t, but times like these are a very convincing argument.”

* * *

The other five members of the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_ , or _SMAC_ for short, are already congregated in the center of the football field. Appropriately, Felix is in the center of their little circle, bright orange flames enveloping his tiny hands like rapidly burning matchsticks. Upon seeing Jisung and Seungmin skittering across the turf, Felix breaks out into a grin and starts waving his hands as if they aren’t currently on fire.

“ _Felix!_ ” The other members begin screeching and Chan has to reign in both Hyunjin and Jeongin, while Changbin is grabbing onto Felix’s arms to prevent him from setting anyone ablaze.

“Wha – _oh_! Sorry, sorry!”

“Well, that’s one demonstration of Felix’s pyrokinesis,” Chan comments as he gently coaxes Jeongin closer to Felix. “Not that there’s much we can currently do with your power considering how destructive it can be.”

“I’m trying my hardest to keep it under control,” Felix laments as he stares into the bright flames licking at his fingers. Changbin just sighs and ruffles his mop affectionately.

“Don’t let it get you down. At least, things _should_ be fine as long as Hyunjin and I are around.” Changbin shoots Hyunjin a stern look, and the tall boy only whines and turns away.

Even in the biting cold, Chan’s grin is warm and welcoming, and the other six boys eagerly close up the circle. “Now that we’re all here, why don’t we go ahead with our little demonstration. I’m pretty sure Jeongin is here to see some fireworks, and I’m not talking about getting set on fire by Lix over there.”

Jeongin stares at Felix in awe, to which the other boy simply grins apologetically.

“Just to make it easier for us to clean up and without risking any property damage to the school,” Chan says while gesturing behind him, “I asked the archery team for any old targets they weren’t using anymore. Changbin and I set it up on the tarp before everyone got here, and now we’re ready for some business!”

“Within reason,” Changbin quickly adds.

“That being said, how about I go first?” Chan beams at everyone like he isn’t currently freezing from the cold whilst everyone else has latched onto each other for some inkling of warmth.

“…Please, go right ahead,” Seungmin replies, currently latched onto by both Jisung and Hyunjin.

Chan’s eyes turn into slits as he smiles at all of them, and specifically at Jeongin. “Keep your eye on me, okay Innie?”

“Here we go. It’s his favorite trick in the book.” In between the members chuckling both at their leader and Hyunjin’s little quip, as well as Jeongin trying to register what was about to happen, Chan suddenly disappears from where he was standing just a few feet away and reappears at the far end of the football field.

“How…was that…?!” Chan can barely get his voice to project, already so far away from his audience and clearly in some sort of fatigue just from how he was clutching his knees.

“Wha…how…?” Jeongin’s mouth has fallen agape, and he’s searching for an answer in the eyes of his classmates. “I thought he said his power was time control? Isn’t that superspeed?”

Changbin smirks at the younger boy and shakes his head. “Nah, that’s time control. Only problem is,” and he points at Chan slowly but surely making his way back across the field, “is that the longer he stops time for, the more it drains out of him.”

“C-Correct…aish…!” The older boy yelps from fatigue and stops again in his tracks to catch his breath.

“Should we go help him out – “

“He’ll be fine.” Jisung grins and momentarily detaches from Seungmin to latch onto Jeongin instead. “See, I’m not a physics major or a mathematician by any means, but beyond all that _time is relative_ mumbo jumbo, he basically stopped time and ran to the other end of the football field. All in the amount of time it would take you to blink.” The blonde grins and returns his attention to Chan who finally made the trip over.

“Wow…that…never gets any less tiring…” Chan laughs and pushes his tousled brown locks out of his face before glancing back at Jeongin. “So, what do you think?”

Jeongin’s expression can only be described as awkward yet well-meaning, judging from the way he’s passing looks between Chan and the others. “It’s cool and all, but…is that it?”

Everyone erupts in laughter behind Jeongin and the young man is then frantically trying to backtrack on his words and abate everyone’s mockery of their leader. Chan sighs and offers Jeongin an understanding smile as he firmly squeezes his shoulder.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize. I realize it’s not the strongest or most interesting ability out of the bunch, but I’m thankful enough that I have something that could be utilized in a pinch.” The leader then turns his well-intentioned smile towards the rest of them. “Now how about we show off the rest of you?”

* * *

The digital clock in his dorm room reads 1:03 AM when Jisung finally makes it back home. The spectacle of seeing his friends showing off like circus performers is always a treat, regardless of the fact that Jisung was shivering and exhausted by the end. Jisung chuckles to himself as he remembers taking Changbin by the hand and electrocuting him for the sake of demonstrating Changbin’s power; _the Energizer Bunny_ , Jisung called it, when the shorter boy was quite literally vibrating with energy (and hairs all standing on end), shortly before shattering a block of ice that Hyunjin generated in the center of the football field.

Aside from that highlight, there was Felix juggling fireballs and launching them at multiple targets at once, prompting everyone to flatten themselves against the ground to avoid catching fire. Seungmin is always a show-off and it didn’t take him very much to impress the club’s newest recruit, what with him levitating every target off the floor without so much as lifting a finger.

But nothing could have prepared them for the actual shitshow that is Yang Jeongin. Jisung shivers in excitement upon reminiscing the sleight of hand – or would it be _entire body_ – that the young boy could employ. From creating fake clones of himself, to _dissolving into sand_ , to even tricking the others into thinking there was a second Changbin on the field – the possibilities are exciting, and Jisung is already thinking of ways for them to utilize Jeongin during actual crime sweeps.

The excitement of the evening has Jisung temporarily forgetting about the cute boy in his psychology class just that morning. Despite drowning his face in cold water, the drag of his eyelids over his eyes is far too difficult to ignore. Just after changing into more comfortable sleepwear, Jisung is moments away from collapsing onto his bed when the bright flash of his smartphone’s screen catches his attention.

“Did someone update their insta? Or maybe it’s someone blowing up the discord again…” His feet are soft against the hardwood floor when he strides over to his bedside table, an oversized sleeve coming up to cover his mouth as he yawns. The brightness of his screen momentarily blinds him while his eyes focus in on the singular notification right in the center.

1:36 AM

**Lee Minho** _hey you up?_

Where Jisung’s eyelids were heavy and lidded just moments ago, they have now flown completely wide as the realization settles. _…Oh. Minho is texting me. Why is he texting me? Why now?_ Jisung grimaces at the screen but ultimately unlocks his phone with a sigh of defeat.

Minho’s message stares back at him like an angry bulldog, but now that the read receipt has gone through, Jisung can’t spend any more time dallying about.

1:38 AM

**Han Jisung**

ya

it is indeed I

han jisung

why are you sitll awke hyung lol ?

Nearly all sense of drowsiness has oozed out of Jisung’s very being, and he climbs into bed with his phone pressed up to his face in anticipation. After only a few seconds did the read receipt appear, followed by the telltale black dots.

**Lee Minho**

why are you still awake??? lmao

Jisung snorts but waits for him to finish typing.

**Lee Minho**

nah just wanted to make sure this was the right number

but since we’re here anyway why don’t we talk for a lil bit before i go to sleep?

The blonde isn’t quite sure when his cheeks started feeling so warm, or when he started grinning like an idiot; nevertheless, he presses further in spite of his sleepiness.

**Han Jisung**

why dont we start off with why youre still awake lmao

**Lee Minho**

heh okay i’ll bite since you’re so insistent

i just finished burying a dead body.

The black dots disappear from sight. Jisung waits for a follow-up, a punchline, an emoji – _something_ , because his blood has run cold.

**Lee Minho**

LOOOL i’m joking

i was finishing up one of my cs labs

god why am i so smart this major literally sucks ass

and you? why are you still up lol

Jisung laughs to himself and begins typing on the screen.

**Han Jisung**

jeeeeeez way to kill the mood man LMAO

i…had a lot of homework to do as well

**Lee Minho**

bullshit you’re a sophomore

**Han Jisung**

hey its a valid complaint!

**Lee Minho**

pfffft

id sooner believe you were jacking off

_I can’t believe this guy_ , Jisung thinks as he’s quite literally tearing up from laughter.

**Han Jisung**

and if i actually was?

what then lmao

**Lee Minho**

well well don’t hesitate to drop the stream link 😉

Jisung’s eyes widen just a tad and the goofiest smile spreads across his face. _Is..is he flirting with me? This little tease…_

**Lee Minho**

again i’m kidding

anywho i’m tired af

i’ll see you when i see you

don’t be a stranger though 😼

A deep breath reverberates through his body upon closing the phone and setting it back down on his bedside table. Jisung can’t stop smiling even when he closes his eyes and pushes his head as far back into his pillow as he could muster.

“…Ah, Minho hyung, you’re a real piece of work,” Jisung speaks into the darkness. “So cold and so weird. Why am I even attracted to you?” A sound halfway between a groan and a laugh erupts from his throat before he decides to roll over and smother his face into his pillow instead.

_I definitely won’t be a stranger, just you watch._

* * *

To describe Jisung and Minho’s growing relationship as anything less than thrilling is an understatement, to say the least.

The older boy continued to be cold and unreadable in person, but the words that slide past his lips are laced with honey and chocolate, almost like biting into a chocolate bar with a ghost pepper lodged inside it. Jisung is more open about his growing attraction to the older boy, especially when they toss lewd jokes at each other under their breaths during class like a bunch of teenagers. Granted, Jisung is a year past eighteen, but the fluttering sensation in his chest when Minho looks at him like _that_ sends him back to his high school days.

And what a _look_ that was, when they find time to go out for coffee or snacks in between their bustling schedules. Jisung finds it difficult to ignore the way Minho stares at him over the rim of his coffee mug. It’s almost as if something is ablaze beneath those honey brown irises. It doesn’t frighten Jisung, the way Minho laughs with him and jokes about silly things and yet still come off like a tiger in the brush, and Jisung is but a mouse in the dust.

They’re flirting, Jisung surmises at the most basic level. Jisung is flirting with the cute boy in his sexual psychology class, although it really didn’t seem all that simple to him. They laugh and joke around far too easily for strangers who have just crossed the threshold of acquaintances, but then Jisung melts when Minho swipes the whipped cream stuck on his mouth and slips it past his own lips – all without hesitation. Or when Jisung messages him at the end of one of his patrols around campus just for an update, and what he gets in return is an innocuous selfie in return: Minho, nude from the chest up and exposing not only his stellar collarbones but his flushed skin and damp bangs stuck to his forehead.

_Just finished working out_ , he says.

Jisung never felt heavier than that night, writhing on his bed in the dark, biting down on his lip until it was swollen and his hand shoved between his thighs for at least five minutes.

That weekend, Jisung sends the older boy a…gift of reciprocity of sorts. A well-angled and all too innocent mirror selfie of him in a cut-off shirt flexing his bicep. _What do you think?_ Jisung asks, in a tone that would generally indicate something more of a general response than an impassioned reaction.

Minho sends him an unenthusiastic _lol_ coupled with a cat and double-eyes emoji, almost as if mocking Jisung’s attempt to be effortlessly sexy. The flaccid response has the younger boy sulking for the remainder of the night and well into the morning after; at least until their professor has them working in partners and Minho, in the most matter-of-fact and platonic of ways, whispers _nice arms, babe_ into Jisung’s ear while handing him the pen that he has unceremoniously dropped once again.

It takes all of Jisung’s willpower not to get hard in his already skinny jeans. His skin tingles and he can feel the hairs on the top of his head rising and he has to remind himself to keep his powers under control, even in this time of duress. If his hands weren’t already so sweaty, he might have dropped his tablet pen out of nowhere, and then Minho would be picking it up again and –

“Jisung, you don’t have to get me anything for my birthday, but you _need_ to get laid.”

The blonde flinches and almost drops his phone at the words slipping out of Hyunjin’s mouth.

“And you know what would be the perfect time and place to get laid? _My birthday party next weekend._ ”

Hyunjin grins at him like getting black out drunk at a college party is suddenly the most revolutionary idea in the history of the world.

A half-hearted laugh comes from Jisung as he regains his grip on his phone.

“You know what, why don’t you invite that boy Seungmin told me about? What’s his name? Minhyung?”

“Oh no no, I’m sure he’s all busy as hell, especially since midterms are about to start and he’s in the CS major anyway – “

Seungmin drops into the chair next to him with his bag of Doritos and quickly inserts himself into the conversation.

“Jisung, don’t listen to his idiocy; you don’t need alcohol to get laid. I _do_ think you should invite Minho hyung. I think we could all stand to let loose a little bit before midterms begin anyway. Maybe this will be the much needed push you both need to finally make it to first base.” Seungmin tops it off with a chuckle and the only thing keeping Jisung from pushing him off his seat is the juice pouch in his hand and his phone in the other.

“Maybe. We’ll see. I’m not sure what he can get from hanging out with a bunch of sophomores but maybe he’ll come around.” Jisung pouts and tries not to think about going to any bases with the older student.

“And since we’re still talking about my birthday, do you guys think I should get an _Apple_ watch or a _FitBit_?”

“Jinnie, you know you won’t ever use the _FitBit_ , so just get the watch,” Seungmin sighs before giving him a cheeky smile that curdles Hyunjin’s blood.

Jisung laughs behind his juice pouch and quickly directs his attention to Chan, who has entered the clubroom with his signature headphones and MacBook in tow.

“Here we go, let’s see what’s going on with the captain this week,” Jisung chirps while leaning on his elbows on the table. Behind him, both Felix and Jeongin have straightened up their chairs after Changbin yelled at them to stop watching whatever it was they were laughing at on Felix’s massive smartphone (it was a video of a singing dolphin) and pay attention upfront.

“Aish, Binnie, I appreciate the sentiment but you don’t have to be uptight with the club members,” Chan says with a bit of jest in his tone, “besides, this isn’t a lecture.”

“And yet, it always feels like one whenever we’re in here,” Felix replies, prompting scattered laughter amongst the other members, only to be snapped at by Changbin once more. Chan’s cheery composure gives in for just the _slightest_ moment but it takes nothing but a deep sigh for it to come filling right back up.

“Okay, now let’s settle down because, if you remembered my message on the discord server last night, today’s meeting is going to be a little important.”

Jeongin’s hand shoots up faster than anyone can get a word in.

“Innie?”

“Will we finally get to – Felix, what was it – _destroy them?_ ”

Hyunjin, Jisung, and Seungmin all share confused looks.

“…Jeongin, who’s _them_?”

“Uh,” Chan starts again, flailing his arms to return attention to himself. “No powers. Well. Potentially, but it’s…lemme just explain.” The president centers himself for a moment, bowing his head down and letting his bangs fall to cover his eyes. “…I am extending patrols to the weekend, but they’re only going to be solo patrols. Hold your applause, please.”

A lull falls over the members as they all exchange looks of confusion.

“…W-Wait, _solo_ patrols? Hyung, are you sure about this?” Seungmin asks.

“Yeah, solo patrols? That’s kind of a big step, don’t you think?” Changbin adds as he brings a hand to his chin in thought.

A bright grin stretches across Jisung’s cheeks as he leans back in his chair. “Sounds like the perfect way to practice with our powers, I’ll be honest.”

“I’m gonna second that notion,” Felix chimes in behind the blonde, cracking his knuckles enthusiastically for emphasis.

“I’m all for it…as long as I don’t have to go on patrol on my birthday next weekend.” The look on Hyunjin’s face is nothing but smug, until Seungmin firmly tugs on his ear and gets him yelping. “ _Ow, ow, ow!_ ”

“ _Hyunjinnie._ ”

“Okay, _okay_ , settle down, settle down. Granted, it does seem a bit extreme, but this is just my way of slowly integrating more independence and personal responsibility upon _all_ of you as…ability wielders.” Chan’s voice is hush hush for just a moment, and he briefly glances at the door to the classroom as if someone is waiting on the other side. “…But that’s precisely why I’m only limiting it to weekends. For all intents and purposes, Jeongin, you won’t be allowed to go out on these patrols yet.”

“Aww.” The young student pouted and Felix quietly patted his shoulder.

Jisung claps his hands together and grins up at Chan at the podium. “But the rest of us…we still get to go out on our own and use our powers?!”

“ _Within reason_ ,” Chan stresses with a stern look. “Only if necessary.”

“I mean, _yeah_ , but we still get to use them, right?”

An exasperated sigh slips out of Chan. “... _Yes_ , you do get to use your powers.”

“Thank you.” Jisung’s cheeks fill out like balloons and of course Chan is not immune to his brilliant charm.

“…Anyway,” Chan begins, as he opens up his laptop up on the podium, “I have already drafted the scheduled weekends for the rest of the semester. I’ll post the full schedule on the discord later, but at least for this weekend and the next weekend, our first patrol will be conducted by…” The young man pauses for dramatic effect and by now, everyone has leaned out of their seat in anticipation.

“Jisung! …Please don’t do anything that would disappoint me.”

“Aww…wouldn’t that mean you’d have to skip my party then?” Hyunjin’s smile has dropped into a pout when he turns to Jisung behind him.

“I…well, shit.” The blonde chuckles sheepishly and brings a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. “Chan hyung? Can’t you reschedule me for another weekend – “

“Nope, unfortunately not. Sorry about that, dude. This is the only way the patrols would have worked out without me squeezing in Jeongin this early. I mean…if you’re lucky you can still squeeze in some time for Hyunjin’s party?”

The grimace on Hyunjin’s face tells all. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Hm. I guess you won’t be able to sleep with Minho after all – “

“ _Shh! Zip it!_ ” Jisung hisses at Seungmin, who is giggling to himself again. A scoff slips out of Jisung as he tightly crosses his arms. “It’s okay…I’ll think of something.”

“What about me, Chan?” All of them turn to look at Felix in the back. “I – “

“I’m not sending you out on your own until the new fire blankets come in.”

“And when will that be?”

“In six weeks.”

“Aww.”

* * *

To be entirely frank, Jisung wasn’t _too_ upset about getting assigned patrol for the next two weekends, on the trade-off that he was able to go out and fool around a bit by himself. And what exactly does a college sophomore with electrokinesis do on a Saturday night four weeks before midterms? Not study, that’s for sure.

Sure his suit feels a bit tight in some sections, but damn if he didn’t look good in it. He wasn’t the Peter Parker from _Spider-Man: Homecoming_ that he wished he was, but the way the tempered black leather stuck to his arms and legs, combined with the sleek yellow trim here and there… If Jisung was anymore narcissistic, he might have just stayed in and admired himself in the mirror all night. A soft sigh escapes him when he sees the absolutely _luscious_ way his blonde hair looks. If Jisung sent a selfie in his suit right now, maybe Minho would come marching right over and bend him over his bed that instant.

Alas, that would be against the very tenets of _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_ and the last thing Jisung wanted was for Minho to think he was into BDSM or something. With one last glance at himself (including adjusting around his groin area; it was starting to give him a wedgie), Jisung slipped his helmet on and made for his front door.

Thankfully, he was already well-versed with the best way of getting out of his dorm room after learning how to do it over the course of the last year and a half of being in _SMAC_. And even if he was caught out with his costume…it’s college; no one ever questions the crazy stuff that happens in college – or at least, that’s what Chan said.

The campus really was quite the beauty, especially now at approximately midnight when no one was walking around willy-nilly. Such was the joy of getting to attend a prestigious private university…

Jisung shook his head; he was supposed to be patrolling, not smelling the flowers. Chan conveniently laid out a route for them to follow, because he was responsible and resourceful like that. Granted, the patrol was only supposed to be three hours, but patrolling a route that spanned almost the entire campus? Nearly impossible.

The only thing that could keep Jisung on his toes now was the possibility of any _real_ action and perhaps the nightly chill seeping through his relatively thin suit. Slinking through the shadows now, Jisung could feel the static crackling at his fingertips and jumped when a nearby streetlight started flickering.

“…Ah shit, I need to chill out,” he muttered to himself with a light chuckle.

Unfortunately true to his expectations, the patrol was quickly turning into an overglorified walk in the park. Sure, there were a few close calls involving some drunk kids trying to get back to their dorm rooms, but otherwise the most exciting thing that had happened yet was him playing around with a stray cat outside the football stadium.

And that was only 1:15 AM.

Not too long after that did he decide to pull out his phone and start playing a couple rounds of PUBG, not quite realizing that he hadn’t bothered to charge his phone before leaving his dorm. It shouldn’t have been surprising for him to have the _Low Battery: 20% Remaining_ alert flash across his screen – and him subsequently getting killed during the match.

_No matter_ , Jisung thought. Their university was wealthy enough to have wireless charging stations all over campus. But the possibility of finding a building that was still open for him to get a few minutes of charging in was…highly unlikely, on top of him still donning his _very_ eye-catching suit.

(The last time he tried charging his phone using his own electric powers, he had bricked the thing and needed to buy a new one immediately; Jisung was never trying _that_ party trick ever again.)

Jisung pocketed his phone and scanned the premises. He was currently in the engineering department of the campus, so he wasn’t too familiar with the layout of the buildings. Thankfully, he could still read the giant iron lettering on the walls, and the nearest one had shiny letters that read _Engineering Hall_.

“…Okay, no, they’ve _got_ to have the best charging stations on campus then,” Jisung mutters before jogging over to the door. “Jeez, please be open…somehow…”

One of the side entrances was visible enough, and just as he was about to reach for the door handle, Jisung noticed that the door was slightly ajar. A tingle ran down his spine and his senses were suddenly on high alert. Jisung swallowed thickly and looked past the glass door and into the hallway. It didn’t seem to be in any sort of disarray but…

_Did someone break into the engineering building?_

“Ah, shit,” he curses, and he pockets his phone before carefully pushing the door open and stepping inside the corridor. After briefly glancing behind him to make sure no one else could see, Jisung quietly padded down the hall, grimacing at the fact that his boots were making too much noise. The red _EXIT_ sign framing the side door bathed the corridor in an eerie red light that made his fingertips crackle with electricity.

In the back of his mind, he sees the brightly colored, neon-marquee _Excitement Meter_ slowly rising. Maybe, just maybe, this first patrol night might actually have something for him to flex his shocking fists on.

As far as he was concerned, the engineering building was filled with many things like workshops, storage rooms, and of course a couple of lecture halls. A quick trip up and down the next corridor led him to no concrete conclusions, and so Jisung decided to sneak up the stairwell to the next floor.

“Jesus Christ, whoever’s broken into this place had better not be on the top floor…”

Jisung grumbles to himself upon making it to the next landing and pushing open the door into the corridor.

“God, I need to work out more – _ack!_ ”

A black figure zips by and quite literally crashes into him, sending him stumbling into the nearest wall.

“What the actual shit…?!” When Jisung braces his hands against the wall and zips his eyes up at his assailant.

The figure that stood a few paces away was clad in a skintight suit, much like his, but it wasn’t anything Jisung had seen before. It was black leather and metal that shined both dark green and deep violet – almost like the scales of a scarab beetle. The stranger was even wearing a mask, oddly shaped like the face of a cat, that only covered the top half of their face.

Jisung sputters as he regains his bearings. “Who…who are you? Did you break into this building?”

A smirk forms on the stranger’s lips, and for some reason the hairs on Jisung’s nape stand on end. The stranger tilts his head almost tauntingly, and Jisung notices the glint of the silver earring dangling from their left ear.

“And what if I did? What would you do?”

Jisung growls and clenches his fists, prompting a couple of sparks to fly off of his exposed fingertips. The minuscule spectacle makes the stranger tense, and they take a cautionary step backwards. The bright red light of the _EXIT_ sign hanging in front of the stairwell door makes the masked stranger look even more ominous.

“You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t doing something illegal. And you look _pretty_ illegal to me,” the blonde replies while slowly advancing on the cat masked stranger.

When the figure scoffs and laughs off Jisung’s insult, something tugs at the back of Jisung’s mind. _That…that laugh…_

“…Love the compliment, sweetheart, but you’re too late if you’ve come to stop me. Love to chat sometime, though. See ya around.” With that, the stranger turned on their heels and swiftly dashed down the corridor and around the corner.

Jisung’s eyes widened and he broke into a sprint after the masked stranger. “W-Wait! Dammit…I’m not done talking to you!” He stumbles over his own feet after his boots skid around the corner, and by now his fingers are crackling with energy but…the stranger is nowhere to be found. The sound of blowing wind leads Jisung’s eyes over to an open window at the end of the hallway.

“Shit…!” The sophomore’s tongue clicks in frustration; his first patrol and he might have just blown it. Jisung could only imagine what Chan would have to say.

Begrudgingly, Jisung pulls out his phone and types away at the screen.

\- March 15, 20XX -

**p1kachu** Today at 2:08 AM

um guys

i think i may have fucked up

* * *

The encounter had sent the entirety of _SMAC_ into a tizzy; while Jisung admittedly didn’t feel too shaken up after the ordeal, his curiosity regarding the identity of the stranger in the cat mask was too strong to be ignored, and he could only wish upon talking about the situation with someone that wasn’t a member of _SMAC_ – namely, a certain Lee Minho.

It shouldn’t have been surprising that Chan immediately suspended all solo patrols for the rest of the month, but the greatest wave of relief washed over him when Chan didn’t even scold him for failing to stop the masked stranger. Chan even commended him for reporting to the server immediately after engagement, as well as his ability to keep calm and not resort to using his powers outright.

The others’ reactions ranged from concern to absolutely jealousy, just judging from the way Felix keysmashed as soon as he heard the news.

_“Well, if anything, this means you’re up for the party next weekend, right?”_

_“I mean…I guess that’s a benefit, but…”_

_“Sad about solo patrols being suspended for the timebeing?” Seungmin added._

_“No, it’s not that. It’s just…that guy in the suit…”_

_“I’d advise you not to worry about the guy. Just drink it all off on Saturday, Sungie.” Hyunjin chuckled and lightly punched the other sophomore on the shoulder._

_“Might I remind you that we’re still underage,” Seungmin reminded him. “And Jisung, I think you shouldn’t worry about it too much either. We’re just glad you didn’t get hurt or anything during that first patrol.”_

_Jisung huffed and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. “…Maybe you’re right.”_

_“Besides, doesn’t this mean you’ll be able to attend with that boytoy hyung of yours?”_

_Jisung shot Seungmin a glare but allowed his smirk to come through. “…Perhaps.”_

Jisung and the other boys had no idea what the stranger was doing inside the engineering building, but the truth immediately came to light come Sunday afternoon.

Word had gone out that several students in the computer science department had had swathes of their graduate project code either heavily tampered or outright _erased_. Not too long after word of that came out did Felix send a rather foreboding picture to their discord server.

A bit of leftover code found in the graduate projects produced a small, pixelated picture of what looked like…a cat with the iconic Cheshire smile, colored in purple and mint green.

Shivers ran down the length of his spine as he stared at the picture on his phone, which only served to remind him of the stranger in the cat mask and the suit covered in green (or purple) scales.

“Morning.”

Jisung nearly jumps and decides to shove his phone into his pocket while Minho is seating himself in his usual seat next to him.

“M-Morning…!” He’d been a bit _MIA_ over the past day, mostly because of the issues regarding the engineering building hacker and _SMAC_ ’s activities. Unfortunately for Jisung, any discussion regarding his supposed _super identity_ could never be shared with the older boy.

With the nature of their relationship just one misplaced sentence away from going completely orbital, Jisung was expecting something more…jovial, at the very least, from Minho. However, Jisung senses something completely off with the visible tension in the older boy’s body. From the careful, inorganic movements of his arms trying to set down his messenger bag, to his stiff posture sitting in the chair.

“H-Hey…you don’t look too good. Are you okay, dude?”

Minho blinks unflinchingly in his seat before turning to look at him. His earring – this time, a fancy-looking, decorative safety pin – dangles with the motion of his head. “…Yeah, I’m good. Why?”

Jisung grimaces at him but the lightbulb comes out at just about the same time. “…You’re in the computer science major, right? Did you hear about – “

“The hacking incident yesterday? Yeah, I did.” Minho continues to be silent for all the time it takes him to take out his laptop and get it all set up.

“Um…” A wall sits between them now; it’s not real, Jisung knows, but this wasn’t the Minho he’d grown so fond of all semester so far. “You’re not part of that group, right? The people who lost all that progress on their senior projects.”

Jisung sees Minho pause, his fingers freeze in the middle of typing away on his document. A breath eases out of the older boy.

“…No. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of the people who got pulled into that mess.” When Minho turns to look at Jisung again, the boy is still pouting at him like he’s not telling the entire truth. “What? I’m fine, you big baby.” Just to placate the other boy, Minho playfully nudges him with his elbow with a teasing smile forming on his mouth.

Jisung sighs like he’s been holding in a breath all this time. “I…okay, yeah, I’m just worried, okay? Like…that shit’s some pretty hard stuff. Would suck to put in all that hard work and suddenly have to start all over again…” His fingers drum anxiously on the surface of his iPad, the little vibrations causing his tablet pen to skitter across the tempered glass. “I hope campus police can figure out who the hacker is.”

Minho glances briefly at Jisung’s pensive face and down at his small hands tapping away incessantly on his iPad. “…Yeah, it would suck to get your hard work taken away like that, huh?”

“Well…enough of that negativity.” Jisung closes his eyes briefly and takes a deep breath; it feels like he’s rehearsed this exchange of words too many times, when he and Minho have said much, _much_ more suggestive things to each other that could easily be taken out of context. “So…one of my friends is having a birthday party at his apartment this Saturday and…maybe you’d wanna come along? Be my plus one?”

The lilt in his voice is sweet and Jisung hopes that it’s enough for Minho to tear his eyes off his screen for just a second. Instead, Minho continues to type away at his laptop, and the only indication that he’s even heard what Jisung has said is because of the sly grin forming on his face.

“You guys are like…what? Turning twenty? Y’all going to be sharing CapriSuns with each other?”

“N-No…! We’re going to have some alcohol – mostly because our older friends are gonna be bringing it – but it’s gonna be a fun party, I promise! You should come, y’know, get your mind off of things and such.” By now, Jisung has scooted even closer to Minho, with his eyebrow perked up propositionally.

For the second time that morning, the older boy stops typing on his keyboard and humors the younger.

“…Maybe. Maybe I’ll stop by. That grad project you mentioned? I’m supposed to have a draft of my code down by next Monday, so I have to put in some extra hours this upcoming weekend just to finish that.” Minho notices the way Jisung’s hopeful smile falters just a bit. “But…if I start early this week, then maybe I’ll have some time to spare this Saturday to hit up your friend’s birthday. Cool?”

Jisung’s cheeks balloon up at his counter-proposition. “…Cool. I _promise_ my friends aren’t lame.”

“ _You’re_ pretty lame, Jisung.”

“That hurts me, y’know?”

“From the stuff you’ve told me, a _lot_ of things would hurt you.” Minho shoots him a smirk and returns to typing on his document.

Jisung chuckles to himself and settles back into his seat right as the professor walks up to the podium at the front of the hall. The party is still going on, Jisung could actually attend this time, and Minho might actually be coming as well.

Minho might come to the party.

Which meant that their – _friendship? acquaintanceship? relationship?_ – might jump from first base all the way to a homerun.

Jisung’s pen rolls out of his hand and right onto the floor.

_Oh sweet Jesus._

* * *

As it turned out, the school officially confirmed the hacker attack on the computer science and engineering department, prompting them to start implementing a stronger cybersecurity system. However, it wouldn’t be implemented until halfway through the following week at the latest, much to the chagrin of many students. Fortunately for those affected by the hacking incident, they were given an extension on the coding project. Aside from that, there were no leads as of yet in regards to who was behind the hacking incident, and Chan made the conscientious decision of leaving the detail of the masked assailant out of the police investigations.

Just the thought of it alone made Jisung shudder; Hyunjin’s birthday would mark just about a week since he had the run-in with the hacker. Hopefully tonight he could just let loose with his friends and perhaps even score a few points with his irresistible and infuriating seatmate.

His hips ache slightly with each step that he takes up the stairs to the third floor of Hyunjin’s apartment building. It’s admittedly nicer than his single dorm back on campus – and the upper scale dorm rooms on campus were _nice_ – which makes him wonder why he never asked his parents to get him an apartment of his own. Every awkward step of his brings his Chuck Taylors into view, a cute but still rather expensive limited edition pair that he bought just last year for his birthday.

In truth, it was probably the fanciest item he had on his person beyond the shiny quartz strapped to his wrist. The rest of his outfit for the party tonight is on the simplistic side, consisting of only a pair of his favorite skinny jeans and one of his more colorful long-sleeved shirts. If he was going to possibly be losing his virginity tonight, then he might as well make it easier to shed his clothing.

And speaking of losing his virginity.

The stickiness in between his asscheeks didn’t seem to get any less uncomfortable as time continued to pass. In an effort to be as _ready for sex_ as possible, he made sure to prep himself before getting ready for the party. What was supposed to be just a few minutes of him spreading as much lube as he could inside him ended with him nearly passed out on his bed after one of the better orgasms he’s ever had.

Jisung grunted as he took that last step off the staircase, still feeling uncomfortable from the lube currently situated inside him. At least here he could easily figure out which apartment belonged to Hyunjin, judging from the _very_ loud music drifting down the hallway. With some renewed vigor, he clutched the small, wrapped box in his hand (it was a silver bracelet engraved with an alpaca emoji) and marched the short distance over to Hyunjin’s apartment, lube be damned.

Three brisk knocks and a stern DM to Hyunjin later, the birthday boy himself finally opened his front door to greet Jisung.

“Hey! You made it!”

“Hey to you too,” the shorter of the two replies, a wide grin already painted on his face.

The boys exchange a warm hug before Hyunjin excitedly ushers him into the studio apartment, which is already filled with not only the members of _SMAC_ , but a bunch of other students in their grade. Jisung chuckles at the plastic tiara situated above Hyunjin’s sandy blonde head, prompting a raspberry from the birthday boy himself.

“Here, before I forget,” Jisung starts, shoving his package into Hyunjin’s hands when they arrive at the refreshments table.

“Oh? Didn’t I tell you that you didn’t need to bring me a birthday present?”

“And shouldn’t you know that I never listen to your advice anyway?” Jisung laughs as Hyunjin playfully jabs him in the shoulder, a similar, toothy grin also spread across his face.

“Speaking of taking my advice, why isn’t your boy toy here with you?”

“Ah. He mentioned he’d be stopping by later? He needed to finish this code he was working on by Monday, so he wanted to take as much time on it as possible.”

Hyunjin raises his eyebrows over the rim of the red solo cup in his hands.

“Studious guy. You sure he’s actually going to make it?”

“Of course…” Jisung frowns up at the older boy as he reaches over for an unopened bottle of soju. “He has to. He said he’d be here.”

“Well…as long as he makes it before the food disappears.” Hyunjin’s grin is wide as he claps Jisung on the shoulder. “You _did_ tell him that he doesn’t need to bring me a gift, right?”

“Oh yeah. Knowing him, he probably wouldn’t bring a gift even if you asked for one.”

“Heh, sounds like a funny guy.”

Jisung raises his eyebrows as if to say _you haven’t even seen the tip of the iceberg_ ; knowing Minho, he’d sooner show up with some ridiculous, throwaway gift that would sour Hyunjin’s impression of him forever. Or he might not. Jisung was still on the fence about the older boy.

“Well, cheers to being one year closer to legal, I guess.” The cap on the soju bottle twists off easily enough and Jisung brings it up to clink with Hyunjin’s plastic cup before taking his first swig of the night. The soju doesn’t quite burn like the heavier stuff, but Jisung was never a heavy drinker anyway, after a particular incident in his freshman year in which he went missing for an hour and they found him face down in a bush across the dormitory courtyard, sobbing.

“Try not to get too crazy, you two.”

The both of them look up from their drinks at Seungmin, who has walked up to them holding a plastic shot glass filled with what looks like whiskey. Without uttering another word, Seungmin downs the amber liquid and his face briefly scrunches in discomfort.

“Ugh…by the way, Chaeyeon and Chaewon are already halfway through the bottle, if you two plan on getting some shots in tonight.”

Both Hyunjin and Jisung immediately look at each other. “You up?”

“Just one.”

* * *

Jisung isn’t quite drunk, just a step below tipsy, but _very_ warm and fuzzy on the inside after finishing a bottle of peach soju and another shot of whiskey. He’s had a few bites here and there, just an eggroll, a chocolate cookie that he shared half of with Lia from his freshman music appreciation class, and one slice of pepperoni pizza. Despite the heavy beat thumping through the walls and his somewhat heightened sense of awareness, a small and incessant voice in the back of his head is telling him to stay steady and lay off the drinks because it’s only 11:32, and it’s been two hours since he arrived and –

It’s been two hours. Jisung’s eyes fly open and no sooner did he pull out his phone just to make sure he was still quite lucid. The screen taunts him with the :32 suddenly becoming a :33. The incessant voice in the back of his head is only saying one thing now: where’s Minho?

With a sharp inhale, Jisung unlocked his phone and tapped away at the screen as if he’d instantly sobered up at the realization that his friend wasn’t even at the party yet.

11:34 AM

**onlyhans**

hey!

youre still coming tonight right?

Staring at the small _Delivered_ text under his message and waiting for it to change into an actual read receipt is simultaneously like defusing a bomb and watching paint dry. For some reason, there’s an inkling of anxiety in the back of his mind, like someone was holding a wet brush soaked with black ink over a pristine sheet of parchment.

The read receipt appears and reads _Read 11:35 AM_. The text bubbles follow shortly and suddenly Jisung’s feels like it’s churning.

**cat daddy**

oh yeah sorry

im probably going to be really late

still at the lab working on some stuff

“The lab, huh…?” It takes a few seconds for something to click within Jisung’s head. _…Wait, the lab?_ His fingers type faster than he could get his thoughts together.

**onlyhans**

lab?

you mean like a computer lab

**cat daddy**

oh yeah

im working in the computer lab in the main engineering building

_That’s…the same lab…the same lab where that masked dude was!_

**onlyhans**

ah okie okie

be careful hyunggg

ill see you soon????

Minho leaves him on read, but that’s enough of a reason for him to pocket his phone and think about heading to the engineering building. The sophomore shoots off the sofa with bounce in his step, and immediately Jisung is making a beeline for the front door. Before he could even reach the door, an arm suddenly hooks onto his and swings him around the opposite way.

“Unless Minho hyung is at the door, I’m allowed to ask where you think you’re going.” Jisung looks up at Seungmin’s ever so inquisitive face, and the shorter boy realizes he might need to choose his words a little carefully from this point on.

“Uh…I left my charger at the dorms.”

The taller boy chuckles and smiles down at him. “You know, Jisung, you’re never been a very good liar. Now tell me what’s got you running for the door like you’ve just shit your pants. Besides, you can just borrow Hyunjin’s charger.”

Jisung sharply inhales and rolls his eyes before opening his mouth again. “…I think Minho might be in danger,” he blurts out, subtlety be damned.

Seungmin drops the playful façade and shoots him a glare, before glancing around them to make sure no one else was paying attention. “Jisung…what are you talking about?”

Jisung mimics him and takes a look around the room before tugging Seungmin closer to the one of the walls. “You know…the hacker guy from last weekend? The one that I ran into at the engineering building?”

“Mhm…what about them?”

“I know…nothing’s come up regarding them, and nothing’s happened over the past few days in relation to the hacking incident but…Minho hyung’s at that same lab right now trying to finish his coding project.”

Jisung pauses to bite down on his lip, a terrible habit he’s developed over the years in regards to dealing with being nervous.

“…and I just have a strong feeling something bad’s gonna happen again.”

Seungmin’s eyebrows furrow in deep thought as he crosses his arms in front of him. “Jisung, I dunno, that’s a pretty hard call.”

“I just need to make sure nothing happens to him. That’s all.”

“So you’re just going to check up on him? What if something does happen? Are you actually going to expose your powers in front of him?”

“N-No…! I mean…I wanted to go back to my dorm and change into my suit, and just…snoop around, I guess. Watch from the shadows. If something does happen, at least I can protect him and he won’t ever know it was me.”

When Seungmin glances back at Jisung, the shorter boy is gazing up into his soul with the puppy-like of puppy dog eyes, causing him to recoil in disgust.

“Minnie, _please_?”

Seungmin concedes with a defeated sigh. “…Fine. But you _have_ to be careful or else Chan is going to be on _all_ our asses. You sure you won’t need any help with this?”

“Oh no, I think I should go by myself. It’d be too strange if the both of us were missing.”

“Alright. Make sure not to get yourself in trouble. Are we clear?”

Jisung smiles and pats him on the shoulder. “Crystal.”

* * *

For starters, Jisung may have been hitting the gym a bit more regularly since he joined _SMAC_ , but that didn’t mean he had much more stamina or longevity. In between running back to his dorm, getting changed into his suit, and _then_ getting lost trying to find the main engineering building again whilst simultaneously trying to stay inconspicuous and rush over to Minho, the way he’s keeled over and heaving next to one of the campus police boxes tells him that maybe he should try running a few laps on the treadmill sometimes.

“Jesus…Christ…!” Jisung pants, cursing Chan’s sister for crafting him a super suit that was made of 90% leather. While it fortunately didn’t take much longer to seek out the main engineering building, Jisung’s blood ran cold as he came to that same side entrance from a week prior and found the door unlocked once more.

Jisung fumbled with his pockets and pulled his phone out to send Minho another text message. His fingers trembled a bit as he struggled to type on the screen.

11:54 PM

**onlyhans**

h ey

you still working at the engineiering bu idling?

The sophomore awaited his response as he pushed the door open and quietly stepped back into that sinister, red-bathed hallway.

“Not responding, huh? Either something’s wrong or I’m coming off as way too clingy…” Jisung grumbles to himself as he rushes down the hallway without making as much noise as he could. “If I remember correctly, it _should_ be on the second floor…”

Jisung hears nothing but the throbbing of his blood in his ears when he creeps up the stairs onto the next landing. The building was entirely dark, save for those bright red _EXIT_ signs hanging above the stairwell entrances. The urge to call out for Minho is powerful, but he opts for clamping his teeth down on his bottom lip instead.

_Minho hyung, if you’re here…_

Once he opened the stairwell door, Jisung’s eyes immediately latched onto the bright light coming from one of the classrooms down the hallway, opposite from the direction the masked stranger retreated after running into him. Jisung swallowed thickly; he needed to be careful about this or else Chan would have his head on a plate the next time he came to the _SMAC_ meeting.

His feet moved before he could even think, and the stark, white light streaming from the classroom door came ever closer. He just _knew_ that Minho had to be inside, just knew that maybe his worrying was all for naught and he can go back to the party in peace to wait out the remainder of the evening for the older boy.

Jisung positioned himself carefully by the door, his fingertips already coming up to push it just slightly more open. He squinted behind his goggles as he tried to peer inside.

Three rows of computers all sat on tables going down the length of the room. Whiteboards adorned the gray walls, some of them scribbled with math equations and other formulas he couldn’t bother to ascertain at the moment. Jisung continued to scan the room for anything out of the ordinary, perhaps even a sight of his seatmate, until –

Jisung’s eyes shot wide open as a glimpse of gleaming, black armor came into view. His pulse began quickening as he pushed the door open just a bit further with trembling fingertips.

There on the right side of the room, almost out of sight and right by the professor’s desk stood the masked stranger. They had their back to the door, and all Jisung could see was that they were standing in front of a laptop hooked up to one of the CPUs. Jisung could barely make out what looked like a slowly filling loading bar, and a pixel animation of a running cat that pulsed in vivid purple and green.

_But…where’s Minho hyung?_

Jisung was shaking now in pure adrenaline, but the way he was crouched against the door didn’t leave him enough room to steady himself as he got up. Instead, his imbalanced posture sent him lurching forward and crashing into the door.

“ _Ack!_ ” The tiled floor is frigid against his cheek, and the sudden sound of condescending laughter is enough to get his blood boiling. “ _You – !_ ” He barks at the stranger as he scrambles to his feet in front of them.

The stranger leans back against the table with his arms crossed and a smug smile forming across the exposed half of his face. “Well, well, we meet again. And you’re _not_ late this time.” The stranger momentarily glanced at their laptop behind them. “Hm…actually, you might still be late anyway. I’m almost done here.”

Jisung’s eyes dart from the stranger’s annoying, Cheshire-like grin to the glowing green cat running along the loading bar. In the split second after, Jisung makes the executive decision to dive for the laptop.

The jovial, mocking expression on the strangers disappears instantly as Jisung crosses the distance between himself and the laptop. Almost as if on cue, an armored leg shoots up and strikes him in the side, sending him flying down the aisle. A pained yelp slips from Jisung as he crashes onto the floor again.

“D-Dammit…!” Jisung chokes on his breath when a sharp pain surges through him while he’s trying to pick himself back up. This man was clearly a threat, it seemed.

“You don’t know who you’re messing with, kid.” The masked man advances on Jisung like a freight train, and he could hear the crack of his knuckles with every step of his heavy boots.

“And you don’t know who I am, fucker.” The man snidely scoffs as Jisung finally rises from the floor and gets into a more appropriate stance. _Keep it cool, Sungie. Don’t wanna get too crazy…_

Jisung wasn’t anywhere sure if he should be using his powers, but the masked man was…quite the physical juggernaut, judging from the dull ache in his side. Upon noticing Jisung’s ready stance, the armored man instead adopts his own positioning, before beckoning Jisung over with a finger and a smirk. Something awakens in Jisung, and it’s not long before he’s rushing at the man with electrified fists.

They go blow for blow, trading fists, elbows, and kicks where they could manage. A fist swings overhead and Jisung barely moves out of the way before retaliating with his own fist to the gut. Sidestep and an elbow there, hitting him square in the shoulder and sending him lurching over, just for the stranger to pull his face into his knee. Jisung yelps and recoils back in pain but decides to simply shake the pain off. A growl erupts from Jisung’s throat when he tries to swipe at the mystery man’s obnoxious smirk, only for him to duck under his fist and instead headbutt him in the chin.

“Agh – _fuck!_ ” Jisung staggers backwards but unfortunately doesn’t recover fast enough to avoid the kick to his stomach. The blow sends him stumbling even farther back, and once again the masked assailant is lording over him with his laughter.

“I know you must be posing as some superhero or whatever, but this is ridiculous, don’t you think?”

“S-Shut up…! You have no right to be messing with people’s stuff in here!”

“Oh yeah? You and what authority?” By now, the masked man is standing in front of him, and Jisung can sense the confidence and power radiating from him. His body is aching all over now and while Chan said the _SMAC_ members were built a bit more durable than any other normal person, Jisung’s not entirely convinced that’s the case at the moment. Before him, the masked man stands proud and tall like they haven’t exerted a single muscle in their body. It is then the realization comes to him; the aura radiating from the stranger is too strong to be just any normal person’s.

This is no ordinary person. This guy is a superhuman, just like Jisung and the others.

Jisung’s eyes are nearly bulging out of his head, driven to take a knee on the floor just to catch his breath. _…Oh God. I fucked up. I really fucked up. Why did I do this?_ He should have asked Seungmin to come along – no, he should have just stayed at the party, drank his ass off, and waited for Minho like he said he would. But no, he had to go and play the hero, and now there was a chance he might actually…

“What? Finally giving up? _Cat got your tongue?_ ”

_No. There’s no giving up here. I have these powers for a reason._ His knuckles crackle when he curls his fists tight enough to draw the whites at his knuckles. Slowly, he cranes his head up to look up at the armored stranger, his lips forming a thin smile.

“…I dunno about you but this mouse still has some tricks up his sleeve.”

In that moment, a shockwave of electricity burst forth from Jisung’s outstretched arm, blasting both him and the masked man in opposite directions, as well as simultaneously short-circuiting every electronic appliance and device in the room. The light fixtures above them immediately exploded into tiny shards of shrapnel, and Jisung yelped as he scrambled to cover himself when the room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

“S-Shit…!”

Jisung grunted as he picked himself up off the floor, now observing the destroyed remnants of the computer lab. “…Oh no.”

A loud groan rouses him from his thoughts, and it doesn’t take long for Jisung to refocus his attention on his newfound archnemesis. Jisung winces as he straightens himself up into a better fighting position; there was no way he was going to hide _any_ of this from Chan.

With the light fixtures shattered and currently throwing out sparks above them, the only lighting in the room is streaming in through the window blinds from the bright streetlamps outside, casting the room in shadow and striated lights. Jisung makes cautious steps toward the masked stranger, mostly because of the pain shooting up his veins at every sharp movement he takes. He slows to a halt upon noticing a glint of violet and green on the floor; the stranger’s cat-like mask is lying on the floor just a few paces away, cracked in half.

Jisung’s breath sticks in his throat as he watches the stranger rise haphazardly from the floor, arms and hands darting about to try and latch onto something with stability. A band of light from the window hits the silver earring dangling off of their left ear at just the right angle, and something about its shine sets the sophomore at unease. Another noise like an animalistic growl erupts from the armored stranger, and suddenly Jisung’s hands come up to his mouth to stifle his horrified gasp when the stranger lifts their head to stare right at him.

The person standing before him now, with black hair unkempt and clad in gleaming armor that shined like black alabaster, is none other than his seatmate Minho.

Jisung stumbles backward with weak, jelly-like legs as his lip quivers in the shock of the moment. Minho’s eyes are hooded over and clouded with smoke and fire as he drags himself from the pile of textbooks, binders, and computer parts behind him. Plastic and glass crunch underneath his boots with every step he makes.

“Oh, you’ve _really_ done it now, you little shit…”

“ _Wait!_ …M-Minho?”

The other man freezes mid-step, his eyes flying open at the timid sound of his own name. The leather on his fists strains as they clench tightly by his side.

“…W-Who the _fuck_ are you, and why shouldn’t I punch a goddamn hole through your guts right now? Answer me!” Minho barks. He stomps the floor as he takes another step towards Jisung, causing him to flinch and put a hand up in defense.

“M-Minho, hyung, wait – “

“I said _answer me!_ ”

“ _Wait, wait…!_ ” Impulsively, Jisung’s hands fly up to his head and tear off his helmet before carelessly tossing it to the side. “It’s just me, J-Jisung!”

His blonde locks messily fall out of place on his head, and despite the apologetic smile stretched across his already bruising cheeks, it does nothing to stop Minho from swiftly crossing the distance between them and swinging his knuckles across Jisung’s face.

Jisung let out a sharp cry of pain as he crumpled onto the floor from Minho’s fist; there was some serious power behind that swing and he winced upon feeling the sting shooting up the side of his face. “Ah…fuck…!” he hissed, grasping at his face. He groaned and cautiously looked back at the older boy.

He has barely a moment to react as Minho delivers a sharp kick to his stomach that tosses him around like he’s but a ragdoll in a blender. A choked gasp escapes his throat, and the sharp pain in his gut almost brings tears to his eyes. _Minho hyung…why…what’s h-happeni..ng…?!_

Minho snarls at him and presses his heel against the side of Jisung’s head, and the younger boy grunts at the feeling of his boot digging into his head.

“…You rich kids always have to come in and ruin everything. You wealthy pieces of shit with your brand new smartphones and designer clothes… All this money to burn and not a single ounce of hard work and effort to show for it. Pathetic.”

“W-Why…are you doing this…? Minho…hyung…!”

Minho’s apathetic gaze is haunting, and the way he tilts his head at Jisung has the implication that he’s about to berate the younger boy for asking a silly question.

“Because I’m tired of getting the shit I’ve worked hard for taken from me.”

_W-What?_

“Tch.” Minho smirks and crosses his arms while surveying the room. “You did a real fuckin’ number on the computers in this lab, Sungie. Electric powers, huh? It would have been easy enough just slipping the virus here before they finish installing the new security system, but you had to go and destroy the easiest point of entry.” The older boy digs his heel into Jisung’s head again, prompting a broken cry from the younger boy and one of his gloved hands coming up to clutch at his boot.

“Now…what do you have to say for yourself, Sungie?”

“I…still…don’t understand…why…!”

Minho rolls his eyes and sighs indignantly. “…My professor was all too willing to screw me over for a couple hundred dollars. I know my own code when I see it, but of course…what the hell is a fucking scholarship kid gonna do against a couple of idiots whose mommies and daddies bought them a spot at this shithole?”

He clicks his tongue in annoyance before finally relieving Jisung of his boot. “That virus was only supposed to destroy all the data backed up in the system but…look what you’ve done. Look at the mess you’ve made…” Jisung slowly pushes himself up off the floor as Minho shakes his head in feigned disappointment.

Suddenly, Minho’s fingers are tightly digging into his scalp and pulling him up by his scalp. Jisung screeches as his hands come up to tug at Minho’s arm, but the older boy’s grip is vice-like. A whimper slips from his lips as he’s brought nearly eye to eye with the older boy.

“God…I _really_ hoped you were different from them, Jisung.”

“I-I swear I’m not…your enemy – _arghk…!_ ”

Minho slams him into the nearest wall, before the hand on his scalp moves to tightly grasp him by his throat instead. He’s being lifted into the air, and the tips of his boots barely graze the floor as he starts flailing in Minho’s powerful grip. Jisung tries his hardest to keep his eyes trained on the older boy, even now that they’re pressed up against the wall with his hand on Jisung’s neck.

“I didn’t say it was your turn to speak, babe,” he whispers, his gravelly voice just barely audible above his own rapidly pulsing heartbeat.

Aside from the hand holding him by his throat, half of the older student’s body is trapping him against the wall like a boulder, and both the increasing lack of oxygen and Minho’s chocolate-like voice in his ear is doing things to his brain.

“M-Minho hyung… Let me…explain…!” His fingers dig into the leather of Minho’s suited arm, but the older boy’s grip doesn’t loosen up anytime soon.

A snarl drifts off of Minho’s lips, but the hold he has around Jisung’s throat relaxes and he opts to hold him by his collar instead.

“…T-Thanks.” Minho continues to stare him down like a vulture as Jisung takes a much needed breath of air. “…I wanted to check up on you. You said you were coming tonight to Hyunjin’s party and I was waiting and _waiting_ and – okay, I _knew_ you had to work on your project but then you said in your text that you were gonna be _here_ , as _here_ where the hacker broke in and messed with some kids’ projects and I got _worried_ and – “

Minho snorts and unceremoniously drops Jisung to cross his arms instead. A smug grin forms on his visage like he hadn’t just royally kicked Jisung’s ass to within an inch of the younger boy’s life.

“Aw, look at you being cute and whatever.”

“I-I was _worried_ , okay?! I thought the hacker was gonna be here and I just thought he was gonna hurt you b-but _you’re the hacker_ and…what the fuck? Honestly, what the hell, hyung?” Jisung blurts out all at once, his fists trembling in frustration and anxiety.

A thick, palpable silence falls in between them, and Jisung is now pressing himself into the wall behind him, regardless of the fact that the whiteboard railing is digging uncomfortably into the small of his back. If only his power was phasing through solid objects instead of discharging electricity like a toaster in a bathtub, then perhaps he wouldn’t have found himself in this situation.

When Jisung meets Minho’s eyes again, the fire lying behind them is that familiar, entrancing flame once again – the same fire that always gave him butterflies (and frankly all sorts of other insects) in the stomach. Minho’s eyes glaze over him without much subtlety, and Jisung forces his own gaze to the floor. The blood is already rushing through his ears and heat pools on his cheeks by the second.

“…Now what? Are we going to go back to swinging our fists at each other?” He forces the words out of his mouth as he levels his eyes at Minho.

“I certainly don’t mind,” the older boy replies while cracking his fingers one by one. “It seems like I haven’t given you enough of an asskicking for the little fireworks display you pulled earlier.” Minho approaches the younger boy, effectively trapping him against the wall with how close he is in proximity. “Or maybe there’s an alternative.”

A breath stutters out of Jisung as his eyes flutter closed. “…Minho hyung.”

Jisung almost squeaks when Minho brings his knee between his legs and presses his thigh up against his groin.

Minho snidely chuckles into the tiny pocket of air beside Jisung’s ear, causing goosebumps to ripple throughout the younger boy’s flesh. “Christ…you’re _rock hard_ , Sungie. Utterly fucking shameless. I knew you’d been wanting to fuck for weeks now, but…you could have asked sooner.”

“You can explain all… _this_ ,” Minho nods at his leather body suit, “…some other time. As for right now…” He shifts from his position to hold Jisung by his tiny waist and the other boy twitches at the intimate gesture. “I wanna see if you can keep up, babe.”

There’s an empty beat before they both lunge at each other, with Jisung throwing his arms around the older boy’s neck and Minho moving to pin him against the wall. Their lips smash together, fueled by nearly two months of push and pull, like a hypothetical game of hot potato.

Jisung whimpers softly against Minho’s insistent kisses, especially with the way he coaxes the younger boy’s mouth open with his tongue and swipes at him like a starving animal. Jelly are his knees, and Jisung was certain he would have collapsed onto the floor from his own weakness had Minho not propped his thigh between his own legs. When Minho finally pulls away for a breath, a thin line of saliva connects their lips, and Jisung shares his lidded, sultry gaze for a split second before the older boy is diving for his mouth once more.

Minho aligns their bodies properly now, and it doesn’t Jisung long to realize that he’s not the only one sporting a hard-on.

“H-Hyung…” the younger whines against Minho’s lips now that the older is grinding their hips together for some necessary friction. The way they rut like animals has Jisung’s temperature rapidly increasing within the confines of his suit, and he’s sure that the same could be said for Minho in his own outfit. “Ha…ah…”

“So _noisy_ , Sungie,” the older boy murmurs with a playful lilt, shortly before pressing wet kisses along the younger boy’s jawline. “Good thing we’re all alone in this building – “

“W-Wait, wait…!” Jisung gently pushed him off for a moment. “ _Here_? We’re doing it _here_?”

“Jisung…” Minho raises an eyebrow at him like he’s just spoken gibberish. “The engineering building locks its doors at eight pm sharp. Or did you not know that to begin with?”

Jisung blankly stares at him, and Minho returns his look with an equally confused expression.

“I was never going to work on my project, Jisung. Do you want me to stop and explain my entire modus operandi… _right now_?”

A sharp breath comes out of Jisung’s mouth before he plants his hands firmly on the other boy’s shoulders. “…You know what? I’ve been waiting too long for this.” Minho’s lips curl into that familiar, devilish smirk of his as they both meet each other halfway.

This wasn’t exactly the type of scenario that Jisung imagined when he was laying in bed just hours prior, furiously fingering himself to the thought of Minho pinning him to his sheets and ramming him into oblivion. _Yes_ , it was wonderful that he was now sharing spit with the classmate he’d been fawning over for almost half the semester so far, but he expected it to happen with less doom and destruction, and _far_ less bruises of the undesirable kind. However, Jisung finds that, nope, he doesn’t mind at all, especially now that said classmate is growling in his ear like a rabid dog while hurriedly fumbling with the zipper on his suit.

“Gonna make this easier for me or what, Sungie?” Minho mutters grumpily.

“I-I need to take the belt off, hyung…”

Jisung grumbles to himself and tries to snap off his utility belt with shaky fingers. (He doesn’t remember what the utility belt even contains, and he could care less at this point.) The nylon belt drops to the floor with a thud and Minho’s hands are back on him with an impatient and furious need. Jisung inhales sharply and shuts his eyes as the other boy’s fingers are enclose around the zipper at his collar. The air is way too cool against his skin when the zipper hisses on its way down, and he gasps in surprise when Minho sucks on his exposed collarbone.

“M-Minho hyung…” he cries weakly as Minho peppers kisses on the flushed skin of his chest. He gradually kisses his way back up to Jisung’s lips, but that only serves a distraction for the hand slipping underneath the zipper of his suit. Jisung squeaks when Minho’s palm presses into his crotch, his cock twitching in response underneath the starchy fabric of his boxer shorts.

After moments of unabashedly grinding his hips into the palm of Minho’s hand (and he could _feel_ Minho grinning against his mouth too), a bit of shimmying has the older boy successfully slipping his suit far enough down Jisung’s body to be able to pull his cock out into the open.

“Hnngh…M-Minho…” Jisung throws his head back to the wall behind him, his already messy blonde locks forming a disheveled curtain in front of his eyes. He could come like this, he thinks, with Minho swathing his tongue over his stiff nipples and his hand pumping his dick without a care for the slickness staining his expensive looking gloves.

“You’re making so much noise, Sungie,” Minho murmurs against his skin. “Go on, only I can hear you anyway.”

When they once again crush their bruising lips together, Jisung holds on for dear life, hands clutched in Minho’s hair while the other boy continues stroking his cock. “H-Hyung…I’m gonna come…not yet, please…!”

A wicked laugh comes from Minho as he immediately takes his hand away from the other boy; Jisung whines in response as his cock twitches from the loss of contact.

“Turn around and brace yourself against the wall.”

The younger acquiesces and tries his best to reposition himself even with his suit halfway down his thighs. The vulnerable and exposed position makes him feverish, and he briefly tenses when he hears the sound of Minho’s glove hitting the floor. Suddenly, Minho’s fingers tug at his suit, pulling it even lower, and fully exposing his ass now. His eyes widen when those same fingers travel up to his backside and spread him open.

_Oh God. This is it. I’m going to die right now. I’m going to – ohhhhhhhhhhhh_

A long, drawn-out groan erupts from Jisung’s throat upon feeling Minho’s tongue slide over his hole, and it puckers in response to the sudden burst of stimulation. “O-Oh shit…” Jisung curses to himself.

“I don’t think you expected to get fucked in a classroom, much less in physical combat with your archnemesis, so I doubt you have any lube on you right now,” Minho says in the most casual of ways.

“Well,” Jisung begins, pausing for a bit to exhale the air he’d been holding in his throat. “I…prepped myself before leaving for the party. I wanted to be ready.”

“Look at you,” Minho remarks, giving Jisung’s butt a commendable pat. “Still, you’re gonna need to be stretched and slicked again if it’s been a couple of hours since then.”

“I don’t think I – _aaaahaahhhhhh ohhhhh…_ ”

The words slurring out of Jisung are lost on the other boy, who is now flicking and swathing his tongue over Jisung’s hole. Minho marvels at the way his pucker clenches at every pass of his tongue and decides to test just how deep the waters go.

Jisung blinks in surprise upon feeling one of Minho’s slender fingers tracing over the rim of his hole, shortly before sliding in.

“…Huh. I was expecting more resistance. This makes it easier for me, though.” Jisung nearly chokes on the breath stuck in his throat when Minho’s finger slides in almost the entire way. A low-toned whimper is sucked out of him the moment Minho pulls his finger out, but just stopping short of leaving him empty; the younger wanted to be filled with _more_ , and he wanted to be filled _now_.

“ _Hyung…p-please…_ ” Jisung whines, drawing an airy laugh from Minho.

“So whiny, Sungie…tell me what you want.”

“I…I need you now…c’mon…!” He cants his hips and tries to push back on Minho’s one finger, but it’s not nearly enough stimulation for him.

“Oh, no no no, you’re going to need a lot more than just this. Just hold on a bit more, Jisung. You’ve waited weeks; you can wait a few more minutes.” Minho presses a soft kiss to the small of his back before adding the second finger inside his squirming body.

It doesn’t take long after that for Minho to find his prostate and hitting the bundle of nerves in repeated rhythm has Jisung writhing in front of him until his legs are buckling from the pressure. Minho adds a third finger and Jisung responds by clenching around his digits with each pass. By now, Jisung’s cock is flushed red and angry, leaking a thin line of precum that has started to pool on the tile underneath him.

“I-I can’t…Minho hyung, _please_ …!” Jisung could cry, quite frankly, what with his nerve endings on fire and his legs trembling with Minho’s every ministration. His hole clenches frantically when Minho finally vacates his fingers from inside him; the sight alone is enough to make him bite his lip in anticipation.

There’s a painful moment between them, where Jisung can only focus on how hard he’s breathing, and the soft grunts behind him as Minho unzips his own suit.

_This is it. I’m gonna lose my virginity to this sinful, terrible, awful man. Fucking finally._

No amount of mental psyching or actual, physical preparation could have readied him for the blunt instrument now pressing into him. His body locks up on instinct, at which point Minho is patting him on the asscheek like a geriatric gentleman would to a well-oiled, vintage roadster.

“I’m not a racehorse, Jisung. I’mma need you to relax for me.” A tinge of mischief taints the soft laugh that comes out of the other boy, and yet Jisung instantly turns into mush when said boy presses another kiss into the small space between his shoulderblades. A ripple of energy surges through him, just enough for Minho to bottom out inside him.

…It doesn’t hurt, Jisung realizes, but just the feeling of being so _full_ and stretched open like this is…astonishing, to say the least.

“M-Minho.”

“ _Yes_ ,” the older boy replies in that obnoxious, sing-song voice of his.

“I’m gonna need something to hold onto, if you understand…what I’m trying to get at.” Jisung momentarily cranes his head back as best he could to shoot Minho a knowing glance.

“Ah…I gotcha. One moment, if you will.”

The younger boy groans quietly as the other begins to pull out of him, leaving his hole clenching around air. Jisung watches him as he walks to the nearest table and shoves an entire desktop array to the floor. His dick twitches between his legs as he swallows thickly at the sight; there’s something oddly exhilarating about watching Minho destroy expensive property without remorse. That and his suit is zipped all the way down to his groin, allowing Jisung to get his first look at not only his dick, but his tight, lean body underneath.

The sound of all the hardware crashing to the floor rattles Jisung out of his daze, and soon enough Minho is taking him by the arm over to the cleared-off table.

“Sturdy enough for you, princess?”

“Yeah,” Jisung exhales slowly as he grips onto the far edge of the table, already spreading his legs as much as he could with his supersuit hanging off of his thighs. He grunts when Minho rubs more of his spit onto his hole with his thumb, just enough until the tense ring of muscle is pliable enough for his thumb to slide in with ease. An elongated moan drags itself out of his throat when Minho pushes back inside him with much less difficulty than the first time.

“A-Ah… _hyunggggg_ ,” Jisung whimpers, drawing a thin smirk from the older boy. Minho spends a bit of time admiring Jisung’s ass before holding him down by his waist and _finally_ getting around to moving.

While Minho was correct in explaining that he wasn’t hung like a stallion, he never mentioned anything about _girth_ , and those six inches of his only bolstered what Minho was packing in _pure skill_. Regardless of whether or not Minho realized that Jisung was still very much a virgin, he quickly found that that wouldn’t have mattered with the way the older boy starts fucking him.

Minho’s vice-like grip on his waist keeps him steady enough for him to start off with an agonizingly slow pace. The drag of his thick cock inside him, pulling nearly all the way out before thrusting back deep enough to hit his prostate, immediately sets Jisung’s nerve endings on fire. And after minutes of this torturous sequence on repeat, Jisung is groaning into the cool plastic of the table underneath him, his knuckles already white from how tightly they were holding on.

“More…dammit, hyung, I want… _more_ …!”

“Tsk, tsk…so demanding,” Minho taunts as he drapes his equally heated body across Jisung’s back to kiss at the base of his neck. “So needy…tell me what you want, Sungie. Tell hyung what you want.” Minho punctuates his sentence with a sudden snap of his hips, causing the boy underneath him to yelp in surprise.

“M-Min…I…I _need_ …”

“Mhm, let hyung hear you loud and clear.”

“I need… _I need it_ … _hard!_ ”

Minho stills inside him, the tip of his cock pressed flush against Jisung’s prostate.

“Louder, Jisung, I don’t think I can hear you when you’re mumbling like that – “

“ _D-Dammit, Lee Minho!_ Just _give it to me_ already…!” the younger boy barks, his body trembling with the odd combination of pleasure and frustration.

The older student leans down to press a kiss against the shell of his ear. “Thought you’d never ask.”

_Now_ the real fucking begins.

The snap of Minho’s hips sends waves of pleasure through every fiber of his being, leaving Jisung white-knuckled and mumbling incoherent utterances here and there. _Shit, shit, shit…oh Jesus Christ…haaaa…_ Behind him, Minho breathes coolly through his motions, but that does nothing to ease the heat radiating from his body and the sweat making his hair stick to his forehead. Jisung clenches and pulses around him at a pace entirely out of sync with his breakneck thrusting; ironically, this only serves to heighten the experience for both boys.

“God…we should have done this weeks ago…,” Minho breathes out, an airy laugh slipping out of his mouth. “You take my cock so well, Sungie. I’m proud of you.”

Jisung preens from the praise, arching off of the table at the same time that the other boy’s hand suddenly tangles in his messy, blonde mop. “ _A-Ah!_ ” the blonde cries out as Minho yanks him by his hair.

His flushed cock bobs underneath him, bouncing up and down from Minho’s shallow, powerful thrusts and painting both the floor and the underside of the table with his steadily leaking precum. He’d never been this painfully hard, and he was certain that he’d come right then and there if Minho ever so much as traced a finger down his length.

“Fuck…M-Minho, I…I’m – !”

“ _Words_ , babe, let me hear your voice.” The fingers in his hair relax, and instantly Jisung presses his face into the comparatively cool plastic of the table. Words struggle to formulate in his clouded, hazy brain, and tears begin forming at the corners of his tightly shut eyes. Minho digs his hips deep into him upon noticing Jisung’s lack of coherence, and the boy cries and squirms underneath him as a response.

“I didn’t fucking hear you, Sungie.” Minho’s voice is hoarse, and just barely above a whisper.

“… _P-Please_ …I wanna come…make me _come_ , hyung,” Jisung whines as he tries to knock his thighs together in an effort to alleviate the ache between his legs.

Minho laughs mockingly behind him and pulls Jisung’s languid, sweaty body up off the table to drape himself over his back. “Such a big baby…” he murmurs into his ear shortly before reaching around to grasp at Jisung’s overly slick hardness.

Not long after Minho brings a hand around to stroke Jisung does the younger boy finally climax, weakly crying out while his cock splashes the underside of the table with white-hot fluid that also dribbles over Minho’s fingers. The older boy follows suit not too long after, his pace quickening in anticipation of his release, before finally stuttering to a halt inside the younger boy. Jisung whimpers upon feeling Minho’s cock twitching inside him and filling him up with his cum.

Jisung winced as Minho began to pull out of him, and the sensation of being empty was suddenly so foreign to him. The older boy licked his lips as he watched Jisung’s glistening pucker and the way his seed was starting to dribble out of him. Minho leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to the small of his back before stepping away to zip his suit back up and get his bearings.

“Would love to stay and clean up, Sungie, but I’m sure it would be best if would both exited the premises as soon as possible.” Jisung turned his head to see Minho already stepping over the debris in the room, but not before stopping briefly to retrieve his now-defunct laptop and the remains of his mask.

“W-Wait – !” Jisung grunted as he weakly tried to push himself up off the table, but the older boy was already out the door, the sound of his boots fading into the distance. The sudden jolt of movement made him stop in his tracks upon feeling the sensation of Minho’s cum sliding out of him.

_…Shit._

* * *

Being alone in the vandalized classroom allowed Jisung a brief moment to recollect his thoughts, because _really_ , there was too much that had transpired.

One, the hacker behind the mask that was also responsible for the mass deletion of several CS students’ graduate projects was indeed none other than Minho, the handsome boy that sat next to him in his sexual psychology class. On top of that, it seemed he had some vendetta against…the richer students of the university. (Jisung swallowed thickly at the revelation that _he himself_ is one of the rich kids at the university.)

Two; not only did Jisung reveal his electric powers to Minho, but it seemed the other boy had some innate knowledge of how superpowers worked. Maybe he, too, had a superpower of his own, but he didn’t demonstrate anything obvious right off the bat. Perhaps he was just good at fighting…

And the final, admittedly embarrassing and yet almost inconsequential, realization that will only serve to make their interactions even more awkward from this point forth: Jisung has just lost his virginity to the same guy he’s been pining over for the past two or so months. Granted, he would have liked to have done the deed inside the comfort of his home, but he’ll settle for getting his ass kicked and _then_ bent over a table inside a computer lab. (And he’ll never admit it, but Jisung loved _every_ single rough second of it.)

Of course, getting back to the party with any semblance of normalcy was easier said than done. Coupled with the fact that he was currently covered in more bruises than a football player and that his little stunt in the computer lab had also completely bricked his phone, he wasn’t expecting to get out of Seungmin’s suspicions all too easily since it’d been almost an hour and a half since he left Hyunjin’s party.

The kind of raunchy sexiness he imagined would accompany having unsafe sex with a total _dreamboat_ like Minho quickly lost appeal partway through his trek back to his dorm, upon which he realized he wouldn’t get anywhere limping around with a clenched ass full of cum. The second unfortunate realization came not too long after, when Jisung quickly had to deal with the cum leaking out of him soaking through his underwear and making every step of the way back to his dorm all the more uncomfortable.

It was nearly 1:30 in the morning when Jisung finally managed to get himself somewhat cleaned up, save for the rather sloppy concealer job on his some of the bruises now forming on his face (and the hickeys on his neck), as well as the telltale cut on his lip and his brow. Either way, there was no salvaging that part of himself and he might as well show his face for the dwindling hours of Hyunjin’s birthday bash lest Seungmin assume the worst and report straight to Chan for his sudden falling off of the radar.

Except that’s _exactly_ what happened when Jisung made to exit his dorm for the third time that evening, this time opening his door and coming face to face with not only Seungmin, but the president of _SMAC_ himself.

“…H-Hey, you two,” Jisung nervously stutters, breaking into a grin in front of the two that also makes him wince because of his swelling cheek.

“ _Jisung_.” Seungmin narrows his eyes at him and Jisung has half a mind to think that it’s because he reeks of sweat (and maybe sex).

“Oh, Christ, your _face_ – “ Chan looked at him in horror as he marched across the threshold to get a closer look at Jisung.

“W-What about my face? My face is _fine_!” Jisung stammers as he holds Chan at bay. A laugh erupts from his throat, but it sounds anxious and forced more than anything, prompting Seungmin to level his eyes at him.

“You were already missing from the party for like, _an hour_ , and then you weren’t answering any of my messages, so what was I supposed to think, Jisung?” Seungmin sounded annoyed, but Jisung knew there was much more to it underneath all his discontent.

“There’s a… _very_ good explanation for that,” he replies with another nervous chuckle.

“Well, there better be because I have a _lot_ of questions,” Chan starts as he begins to push Jisung backwards into his own apartment. “And you better have some damn good answers.”

“And if you’re worried about Hyunjin, Jeongin is taking care of both him and Felix. Changbin is on the way here too, and you’d better hope he’s not pissed enough to take a potshot at you, Jisung.” Seungmin gives him a knowing look as he steps in behind Chan and closes the door behind them.

“Heh…well, please, make yourselves at home,” Jisung mutters with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Even from the back, Jisung can see just how Chan’s posture tenses up when he takes a deep breath.

“…So,” Chan says flatly as he turns around with his hands clasped together. “Let’s start from the beginning here: why exactly did you disobey protocol and go out in uniform? And by the way, Seungmin, you’re not off the hook for withholding this info from me, either.” Chan briefly shoots Seungmin the same look of disappointment.

“I know,” the taller boy replies blandly, and Jisung swallows thickly when Chan returns his attention to him.

Jisung bites down on his lip and tries to cross the short distance over to his couch, only to realize in a split second the sudden ache between his ass cheeks. “…W-Well, I had an inkling that something bad might happen to…my friend who was working in the engineering building. Y’know, the same one that was targeted…by the hacker…!” Jisung winces while limping over to the couch and he chooses to ignore the blush that’s slowly spreading over his face.

“From the looks of it,” Seungmin comments as he stares at Jisung’s awkward gait, “seems like you really did get into some trouble.”

“ _Jisung_.” Chan’s voice is low, in a way that is authoritative and dark and entirely different from his normally jovial self. “ _What happened?_ If you came into contact with the hacker and got seriously hurt, it would be _my responsibility_ , not to mention your friend – “

“I’m fine! I-I’m fine, really…!” He realizes that he might seem unconvincing the way he’s wincing and grunting just from lowering himself onto the couch in a way that wouldn’t aggravate his aching asshole.

“And your friend?”

Jisung’s eyes open and he finds himself focusing too hard on a speck on the stucco behind both of the other men.

_My friend. Minho. He…_

“…H-He wasn’t there.” Jisung knows it’s a lie, and he hopes that he didn’t hesitate enough for Seungmin’s perceptive self to start poking holes at it.

“But you’re obviously _hurt_ , Jisung. Does that mean that – “

“ _Yes_ , I had a run-in with…with the hacker.” _Among some other things._

Seungmin snarls and crosses his arms in further annoyance. “Jisung, I _told_ you not to cause any trouble. We may be sturdier than most people, but whoever this jackass is obviously didn’t hesitate to do a number on you.”

Chan huffs and kneels in front of him to get a better look at the bruises on his face. “…Dude, you need to be careful. It’s not like we have any club members that have healing abilities. But whoever this guy is…he must have been pretty strong to be able to inflict wounds like this on you.”

“Yeah, that’s rather strange. Is this guy, like…one of us?” Seungmin’s voice drops to almost a whisper, and Chan mimics his curious expression.

Jisung pursed his lips and moved his eyes down to the floor. What _was_ Minho anyway? They had already established that they were sturdier than the average person, and yet the older boy struck him with the force of a steel bat. Not to mention being able to withstand his electric shockwave.

“…I-I don’t know. Yes, we fought, but…he didn’t show me any standout abilities that would obviously indicate that he’s a super like us, and yet…”

“So it’s a _he_ – “

“ – and you think he might have been holding back? He didn’t seem to show you any mercy, Jisung.” Seungmin raised an eyebrow.

“See, here’s the thing,” Jisung replies with an exasperated sigh. “He…seemed to know how to counter my every move. It was like…his reflexes were about the same as mine, if not better. And…uh…”

Jisung hesitated for a moment. Chan placed a firm hand on his kneecap, making him tense up.

“ _Jisung._ ”

“…Chan hyung, don’t be mad at me?”

“I can’t possibly be any more upset, but I’ll see if I can humor you.”

“Well…” Jisung’s face contorted into an uncomfortable smile. “…I kind of blew up a computer lab with my electric powers.”

Chan’s face was nothing short of perplexed. His mouth fell open as if he was about to say something but instead closed it tight and looked the opposite way instead.

Seungmin sighed and shook his head. “…And you did this to the hacker?”

“Okay, I wasn’t expecting it to have _that_ big of a reaction, but it did, and the computer lab on the second floor is now in shambles. It’s been done, whatever, my _point is_ ,” Jisung sighs briefly and clasps his hands on his knees tightly. “…It may have been enough to destroy the lab but he – the hacker – he, um…it wasn’t enough to knock him out.”

Both Chan and Seungmin were eyeing him intensely now.

“He kinda just…got back up and…” Jisung momentarily closed his eyes as he willed the images of the night away. “His mask broke, but he already made a break for the exit when I finally picked myself off the floor. I wasn’t able to catch up.” The dull ache in his ass said otherwise, but he hoped the unreadable look on his banged up face was enough to hide his terrible attempt at lying.

Chan clutched his chin with his hands as he began to thinking. “So…this person obviously doesn’t want you to see his face, and I can’t help but think there’s a reason beyond just hiding his identity as the school hacker.”

_If only you knew, hyung. Actually…I’d rather you didn’t._

“And the computer lab…” Seungmin muttered.

“…is destroyed, judging from Jisung’s account.” The oldest of the three narrowed his eyes again at Jisung, who only curled up further on the couch. “Look; things could have gone completely worse, especially with how the _both of you_ handled this, but I’m only glad that you weren’t seriously hurt,” Chan sighed.

“Alright…lay it on us,” Seungmin concedes, crossing his arms across his chest with a pout.

Chan looked between the both of them as he stood from the floor.

“…As of tonight, both of you are prohibited from participating in team efforts to try and find out the identity of the hacker. Any more infractions and…well I’ll have to figure out what to do from there because we’re just college students but my point stands.”

Seungmin sighs defeatedly before shooting a glare down at Jisung, who only deflects his look by turning his face. Jisung curls his lips in as he thinks about the sudden predicament at hand.

_…Well this is going to be a strange turn of events. Even if Minho hyung is the one behind all the hackings, I feel like I should ask him first – be clear on what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. The club…needs to wait._

“…isung? Are we clear on this?”

Jisung blinks and returns his attention back to Chan. “H-Huh?”

“Jisung, I need you to be clear on this. I’m serious.”

A deep sigh slips out of his lips. “O-Oh. Yeah, crystal.”

* * *

If he thought he was in pain after the combination of a proper asskicking and thorough fucking he received just last night, then Jisung was positively in agony the following morning. Several places on his body were much too tender and sore from being covered in bruises, not to mention the ache of his asshole as he pushed himself up onto a sitting position, quickly eliciting a loud groan from him.

Out of habit, Jisung reached for his phone on his bedside table, only to remember that he had completely fried it last night due to his carelessness. He sighed and returned it to his bedside table; no amount of uncooked rice would save that (and he’d inadvertently destroyed a few of his smartphones before due to leaving them in his pockets just before a spin in the washing machine).

With careful maneuvering that took longer than he’d expected, Jisung waddled over to his kitchen with his iPad in tow, hoping to check up on the _SMAC_ discord server (and most importantly, order a new phone). Upon pouring himself a bowl of cereal and uncomfortably adjusting himself on one of his kitchen stools before finally deciding to give up and moving himself to the couch, Jisung finally opens up the _Discord_ app and scrolls through all the messages he’s surely racked up by now.

\- March 22, 20XX -

**kitsINNIE** Today at 10:11 AM

please tell me y’all have seen or heard about the police swarming the engineering building :O

**cha chan slide** Today at 10:13 AM

yeah i was literally about to send that innie

things have gotten really serious and i don’t want to call you out sungie but i hope you’re seeing this

@ **p1kachu**

Jisung swallowed thickly; there would be no doubt that someone likely called the cops upon seeing the aftermath of his little stunt last night.

**spearb** Today at 10:14 AM

jisung i am going to kick your ass the next time i see you

dont care if youre still recovering from whatever ass kicking the hacker gave you

ill kick his ass after im finished with yours

**minnie** Today at 10:16  AM

_sheesh_ couldn’t you all let me sleep for a little bit longer

hyunjin vomited in bed earlier and i had to help him clean up

**spearb** Today at 10:17 AM

don’t care

and don’t think you’re off the hook either esper

**cha chan slide** Today at 10:18 AM

alright ALRIGHT enough

i’m assuming hyunjin and felix are still passed out from last night

**minnie** Today at 10:20 AM

you got that right

felix was sleeping in the living room with jeongin last night but idk if he vomited in his sleep as well

**kitsINNIE** Today at 10:21 AM

he was still passed out when I left earlier!

no vomit though but you should probably check on him just to make sure o.o

**cha chan slide** Today at 10:22 AM

lmk when we can all meet up this week if not the usual friday club meeting

this is serious guys and I think we really need to talk about this in person because this concerns _us_ now

Jisung swallowed the lump that formed in his throat as he put the tablet down next to him. A deep sigh erupted from him while he continued to sink into his couch. He sat there for a few moments, wondering what else he could do in the moment aside from pushing away that creeping sense of irresponsibility-driven panic.

He grabs the tablet off his couch cushion once more and pulls up his messaging app. Not even his lifeless slab of an iPhone could keep him from messaging the one person he _should_ be talking to.

It shouldn’t have been surprising that he didn’t receive any messages from Minho over the course of the last twelve hours, but there was a strange bit of comfort in seeing that the older boy at least read his messages…around two in the morning.

Jisung groaned; it dawned on him that this felt a bit too much like the dreaded morning-after text – which, it entirely _was_ – but both the context and content of his message was more in line with wanting to find out more behind Minho’s schemes, and the fact that Jisung was now covering up for him.

His fingers are all but shaky as he types up a hasty, no, verbose – _nope_ – short and concise statement on the clicky, detachable keyboard of his.

11:12 AM

**Han Jisung**

hey uh

okay to be honest i dunno if ur even gonna read this but

i just wanted to let you know that your secret is safe with me

if you can keep mine a secret too 👉👈

The wait is all too agonizing, even if it’s but a couple seconds of anxiousness (and much needed cereal time – it was getting soggy, after all). And a couple of seconds it was, because his iPad rang with that familiar text jingle not too long after.

Jisung hastily put his bowl down on his coffee table and turned to check the notification on the screen.

11:14 AM

**Lee Minho** _god shut up you’re so dramatic_

The reaction catches him off guard – because _of course_ it does – and the singular message is followed by another curt text.

**Lee Minho** _and while you’re at it, don’t text me about those things_

**Lee Minho** _better if we just talk in person_

“Well, that settles it,” Jisung muttered as he replaced the tablet beside him. Thoughts of Minho’s rant floated back to the surface of his mind as he sank into his couch once more.

_…You rich kids always have to come in and ruin everything. You wealthy pieces of shit with your brand new smartphones and designer clothes… All this money to burn and not a single ounce of hard work and effort to show for it. Pathetic._

_Because I’m tired of getting the shit I’ve worked hard for taken from me._

_My professor was all too willing to screw me over for a couple hundred dollars. I know my own code when I see it, but of course…what the hell is a fucking scholarship kid gonna do against a couple of idiots whose mommies and daddies bought them a spot at this shithole?_

A breath stutters out of him as the words sink in and he quickly brings a hand to cover his face.

He feels insensitive, almost stupid really. Jisung isn’t anyone of those students in Minho’s computer science classes, but he feels just as guilty remembering how many times he’s dozed off in his psychology class next to the older boy. _Microaggressions_ , Jisung remembers as an offhand term and it feels like a ‘well, duh’ moment.

Jisung decides not to reply and leaves Minho’s message alone with the assumption that both he and the older boy are operating on the same wavelength now. Jisung has a pretty good understanding of Minho’s justifications, but that doesn’t ease the tension in his stomach upon waiting in his seat inside their 10:00 AM class the following morning. Because, of course, how could he even _think_ of seeing Minho again after that incredibly wild Saturday night…?

He finds himself curled up in his seat in yet another oversized hoodie, this time pulled all the way over his head to further hide the purple splotches dotting his neck all the way down to his collarbones. He left his smartwatch back at the dorm and opted to use a notebook for notetaking today, in an effort to look less like the _rich garbage_ that Minho vehemently detested. Of course, his tablet lay untouched in his bag, only utilized for keeping in contact with everyone else while he awaited the arrival of a brand new smartphone to replace the one he’d foolishly short circuited.

A shiver runs down his spine, causing him to jolt in his seat and also nearly yelp in pain due to aggravating his still-sore bottom. Jisung whips his head around just to see Minho shuffling down the aisle and scooting into his row. He looks nothing like he did just a few nights ago, but that makes sense because right now he’s a law abiding citizen in a simple purple hoodie, and the last time Jisung saw him he was clad in a skintight, form-fitting –

Anyway.

His glasses sat low on the bridge of his nose and the dark mop on his head was still fluffy and shiny as ever; he otherwise looked the part of an innocuous college student, as Jisung was _supposed_ to see him as.

That didn’t stop the heat creeping across Jisung’s cheeks as he scrambled to straighten up and act like his wires weren’t all crossed.

“Jesus Christ…stop acting so weird, you baby.”

He timidly peered over at Minho, who was already settled in his seat and unpacking his things as if nothing was wrong.

Jisung opened his mouth to speak, but the gears in his brain were currently locked against each other like grinding teeth. “I…um…”

He froze in his chair when Minho finally turned to look at him, blankly eyeing him like he actually _did_ say something stupid, before adjusting his glasses and turning on his laptop.

“I understand we had sex this weekend, but I think that tidbit isn’t what you wanted to discuss about,” the older boy casually drops, causing Jisung to retreat further into his turtle shell of a hoodie. “Unless, of course, it _is_ , then that can be arranged too – “

“O-Okay, you can stop being so _candid_ now.”

“Only if you can stop being so awkward.” Once again, Minho tears his eyes away from his laptop screen and narrows them instead at Jisung, who finally manages to shut up. “I told you that I’ll tell you everything you need to know in person. Obviously not _now_ , but if you’re free at all anytime this week then you can come over to my apartment and we can talk – “

“About that…” Jisung interjects as he pulls down his hood. “I…got into some trouble after what happened this weekend. I’m kinda…not allowed to go out this week.”

A sound of disgust slips from Minho, mildly surprising the younger boy. “What, your _mom_ ground you or something?”

“In a way? Whatever, it’s complicated, but basically it’d be hard for me to leave my dorm unattended.”

“Then tell them you’re having a study date with a cute guy.” Jisung’s eyes widen and Minho’s face only forms into a tight smirk. “What? You’re being shy _now_?”

And then it’s almost as if the tables have flipped, the way Jisung’s face lights up like a lightbulb and Minho responds by grimacing and recoiling away.

“You’re a genius…!”

Minho blinks momentarily. “…Yes, I’m aware, but what are you talking about?”

“They’ll surely never question me leaving my dorm if I just tell them I’m hanging out with you.”

“I don’t know who _they_ are.”

Jisung waved him away with renewed confidence. “Don’t worry about it for now. I’ll tell you all you wanna know when we figure out what do to meet up.”

Minho scrunched his nose at him and adjusted his glasses as he surveyed the younger boy. Besides the bright red _Supreme_ hoodie on him, his tablet and accompanying pen were nowhere to be found, much less the smartphone that looked gargantuan in Jisung’s tiny hands. A modest notebook and a pink mechanical pencil sat on his desk in their stead.

“…Am I missing something or did you just forget to charge your iPad or something?”

Jisung blinks and looks down at his desk before a flush settles over his round cheeks. “Oh, well…I kinda fucked up my phone when I did…the _thing_ , and I was thinking really hard about the things you said…”

A small sigh slips from him as he looks back down at his fingers fiddling on top of his notebook. “I just…didn’t want to be so obnoxious and like, dangle my wealth in front of you. Since you seem to really hate those kinds of people, and I’m _one_ of them – “

“Jisung…” Minho clicks his tongue in annoyance and raises his hand to scratch the back of his neck. “I’m not…you’re… You don’t have to change anything about yourself because of the things I said that night. Because they weren’t really directed at _you_.” Minho huffs and crosses his arms before shaking his head and letting his bangs fly all over his eyelashes.

“But we’re still friends, right? You _do_ want to invite me over.”

“Yeah. Beyond you trying to stop me from doing what I was doing, of course.” Minho punctuated his sentence with a stern look.

“Which…we will talk about sometime this week.” _And the fact that you bent me over a table and screwed my lights out._

The silence between them was understandably tense for a few seconds, regardless of the casual chatter occurring in the lecture hall.

“…Anyway. Don’t worry about it. You can still use your expensive tablet around me or whatever. It’s not like you’re the one I’m pissed off about,” Minho mutters, just as their professor approaches the podium at the very front of the room.

“…We cool?”

Minho sighs. “We’re cool.”

* * *

Jisung’s new phone (the latest _iPhone_ model in _gold_ , mind you) hadn’t arrived yet, so much of his correspondence with Minho had to occur on his tablet. That included using it to navigate his way to Minho’s apartment that Thursday evening.

_Don’t do anything that would disappoint me,_ Seungmin told him, shortly before reminding him that both he and Jisung were barred from gallivanting around campus with their powers, even if Chan didn’t exactly have a proper punishment in mind as of yet. While Jisung was fine with honoring Chan’s restrictions, he wasn’t _actually_ breaking any rules by going over to Minho’s place for a study date.

Because they _did_ have an exam coming up, regardless of the fact that he was the only person who knew that Minho was the culprit behind the engineering department hacking incidents.

All that aside, using his tablet to route him to Minho’s apartment was much easier than he figured apart from walking around with a giant 11-inch slab of metal and glass between his relatively small fingers. The route to Minho’s apartment took him right off campus and down a nearby street littered with apartments. Already, the simplistic and admittedly drab-looking buildings were already a far cry from the much trendier and stylistic dorms on campus, as well as the more expensive apartments on the opposite side.

8:32 PM

**Han Jisung**

hey i’m almost at your place

es pretty dark outside tho so i cant see anything xp

can you come outside and fetch me LMAO

**Lee Minho**

hold up

you’re on 9th street right?

**Han Jisung**

just about, yeah

**Lee Minho**

aight im coming to get you

Jisung replaced his tablet inside his backpack and drifted over to the nearest streetlight just for the extra visibility and illumination. Now, he had no reason to feel scared of the next mugger that comes around after he’d just been walking around in the open holding an expensive electronic slab. However, that was purely nothing but useless hassle for him, especially after Chan’s warning. The last thing he needed Chan to hear was another sighting of his electric light show – and this time, _without_ his super suit to hide his identity.

It was only one or two minutes of standing under the streetlamp in silence before he heard Minho’s telltale taunting behind him.

“Oi, Sungie! Over here!”

The younger boy turned around to see Minho standing in the lot behind him, a phone in one hand and a soup ladle in another. Jisung couldn’t help but crack a smile upon seeing the mint-colored apron hanging from his neck.

“Are you going to walk faster or are you going to make me wait for my dinner to burn?”

Jisung chuckled as he jogged up to Minho before they walked in pace together into the apartment complex.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” Jisung comments after Minho unlocks the front door and motions for him to come inside.

“It’s not hard, dummy,” Minho replies with a snort. “Besides, it’s just tteokbokki. Nothing special.”

True to his word, the spicy aroma came wafting into the room, but it wasn’t enough to distract Jisung from his current interest in examining the other boy’s apartment. Jisung scanned the immediate vicinity with curious eyes as soon as he managed to put his stuff down. His apartment wasn’t too unlike his own room back at the dorms, but the difference in wealth was apparent enough.

Minho’s apartment wasn’t by any means _ugly_ or disgusting; in fact, it was quite neat and tidy with bits and pieces of personal effects here and there (pictures of his cats, along with an array of photos of his family lined on the opposite wall). A low wall with a narrow shelf divided the living room and the kitchen space, behind which Minho was currently stirring and sampling the tteokbokki diligently. The cupboards and refrigerator behind him looked average at best, nothing like the sleek marble-on-wood finish back at the dorms. Where the drab, beige carpeting beneath his feet ended was where the aged, eggshell-colored linoleum began. A lone, glass-topped table sat in the corner with just enough space to seat a meal for two, if that.

“What, is my apartment too ugly for you or something?”

Jisung twitched and returned to his senses, focusing his attention back on the boy behind the stove. Minho narrowed his gaze at him behind the rim of the soup ladle, sending a light shiver down Jisung’s spine.

“No, no, I’m just…looking around.”

“It’s different than the dorms, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah. It is.” Jisung sighed apologetically. “…Look, I didn’t come here to gawk at everything like I’m at the zoo – “

“I’m not gonna upset at you for looking around, but it’d be best if you didn’t finish that sentence,” Minho interrupts, causing Jisung’s eyes to briefly widen. Now it was his turn to sigh. “Just…sit down and relax, alright? If you want some tteokbokki, there’s more than enough for the both of us.”

“Sorry, _sorry_ , I’m being weird, ahhh…” Jisung growled inwardly and waved his hands like he was fanning away a noxious smell. “…H-How was your day?” he asked, instead opting to walk over to the partition and peer at the older boy like a kid at an ice cream parlor.

Minho raised an eyebrow before turning off the stove and walking over to the small glass table to set down the saucepan. “Nothing too exciting. I had classes all throughout the morning and decided to study in the library after lunch. You’d think people would be _quiet_ in there, but everyone just kept talking about the incident in the engineering building.” Minho pauses for effect before shooting a taunting look at Jisung, who responds by showing him a timid and awkward smile.

“…We still need to talk about that.”

“I’m aware. After all, isn’t that why we decided to meet up here in the first place? Aside from trying not to fail our psychology class, anyway. Here, come take some food and I’ll get my laptop out so we can study in the living room.”

* * *

Halfway through the contents of chapter eleven, and long after he’s finished his bowl of tteokbokki, Jisung promptly puts down his tablet and lets his pen clatter onto the table in front of him. Minho stares at him over the rim of his glasses, half out of intrigue and half out of slight annoyance.

“What is it – “

“Let’s talk about what happened this weekend,” Jisung blurts out with wide eyes, shortly before he forces his gaze down at his lap like a disgruntled toddler.

Minho holds his eyes on the younger boy for a moment and finally disengages with a soft sigh. He sets his laptop to the side and props his elbows on the coffee table while clasping his fingers together. “…Fine. Where do you wanna start?”

Jisung pauses for a moment as the sediment of his thoughts settle at the very back of his mind. There was much to sift through but…where should he start?

“…I mean I understand wanting to get back at the students and the professor who tried to sell off your work, but…why not just report them to the dean? To school authorities?”

Minho inhales sharply and regards Jisung with a stern gaze, almost as if he’d asked a stupid question. Jisung opens his mouth to speak, but Minho is quick to talk over him.

“See, that might have been an option…if there was a way to prove that they did it without exposing myself as the hacker. Which would look pretty bad.” The older boys leans back and away from the table, instead propping himself up against the couch behind him as he crosses his arms across his chest. “And say I did have all the proof and took it up to campus authorities? How easily and how quickly do you think this would have been resolved?”

Minho clicks his tongue and turns his head away momentarily, instead looking at the crooked, eggshell-colored blinds littered across his living room windows. Jisung quirks his lips and looks back down at his tablet, his fingers slowly reaching around to turn off the screen with a soft _click_.

“…My family isn’t particularly well off and I’d be damned if I didn’t use this opportunity to pay them back for everything they’ve sacrificed for me. But that’s not very easy to do when everyone else who can throw money at their problems…does exactly that. I’m certain you have some idea what that feels like.” The older boy pushes himself off the couch and instead returns his elbows to the coffee table. “Don’t answer that,” Minho interjects just as Jisung is about to speak again.

“…I’m sorry if I’ve ever come off as dismissive of your issues.”

The older boy scoffed dismissively and rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to keep telling you to stop apologizing?”

“I-I’m sorry! I – “ Minho shot him another look, and Jisung’s eyebrows disappeared behind his bangs. “No, I – okay, I just feel like I haven’t been too sensitive to your issues.”

“Jisung, just let it _go_.” A firm hand clamps over Jisung’s wrist, and the younger boy regards it with waning concern. Minho quirks one of his eyebrows, just as Jisung raises his gaze to look at him again. “Y’know, I’d only meant to spook them into coming clean. I created a neat little virus meant to undermine their new security system, but _you_ – you took it to the next level with…”

Minho nodded at his hand and steeled his gaze at him.

“I think I’m owed some explanations. Care to humor me?”

Jisung detached his eyes from Minho and looked down at his hands, flipping them so that the palms were now facing up. His mind raced a mile a minute, each invasive thought fighting to take center stage. What should he tell Minho, and how much was he willing to divulge?

“Well…” Jisung swallows thickly. “I can control electricity.”

“Uh huh,” Minho answers languidly, lips tightly knit as if that information was obvious from the beginning. “Was that stunt on purpose?”

“I… _no_ , not at all. I didn’t even _want_ to go off like that, I just wanted to make sure _you_ were safe. But…the situation got complicated.” Jisung stares at him with doe eyes and an inkling of a pout. No matter how hard he tried to put his mind off of the situation that past weekend, it seemed to continuously return and haunt him. “And you? You don’t seem fazed at all by the fact that I can shoot lightning out of my hands.”

Minho chuckles and crosses his arms over his chest once again. “I’m… _special_ , too, but my power isn’t…” He stops to click his tongue in annoyance. “It’s not anything flashy like yours.”

Jisung’s eyes grew wide and he found himself leaning over the coffee table to be closer to the other boy. Chan explained early on that superhumans like them have naturally better reflexes and physical capabilities, which made them highly talented in the form of combat. He _also_ stressed that it would be in their best interest to try and hone their skills, and not be entirely reliant on their powers for obvious reasons. While Jisung used his powers as a trump card (without the best consequences, unfortunately), he was still bested and overpowered by the masked man he now knew as his psychology classmate, _Minho_.

“I had to look this up on some wiki sites…,” Minho starts, waving his hand dismissively. “I think it’s called enhanced regeneration?”

“Enhanced regene _what_?”

“It’s like…I heal up really fast. Like cuts and wounds and bruises and whatever.”

Jisung’s eyes flutter for a few moments and the two of them gawk at each other in equal parts disbelief and expectancy.

“…That’s it? So that’s why you were able to get back up from my shockwave?”

“I would believe so.”

“Can you like…grow back a limb or – “

“I’m not testing that theory out.” Minho watches as the bright and awed expression on Jisung’s face drifts into a look of child-like disappointment. “I…think there’s a limit. I mean, yeah, there has to be. I’m not _invincible_ , because for how scrawny you look, the couple hits you got on me still hurt. Not to mention that crazy electric shit you can do.”

Jisung furrows his eyebrows briefly but shakes off the mild insult. “…This is really fucking crazy.”

“You don’t say?” The sarcastic look on Minho’s face says it all. “Now tell me; who’s _they_?”

“They?”

“ _They_ , as in the same people you said wouldn’t let you go out this week for a perfectly valid reason.”

Jisung bites the bullet. _Chan, Binnie…please don’t hate me for this._ He takes a deep, deep breath before speaking.

“…There’s a group of people, very small group. People just like me – like _us_.” As Jisung speaks, he watches the slow, deliberate way Minho’s face changes from one of stoicism to one of shock. “I’m…I’m one of them. We don’t do much, but we’ve been working on _maybe_ civil vigilantism? On the campus scale, at the very least.”

“Jisung,” Minho begins, clicking his tongue once before letting out a puff of air. “I don’t know if you’re lying to me, but if you aren’t, _please_ tell me you haven’t said a word of this to _anybody_ – “

“No! N-No, I didn’t say…well…”

“ _Jisung_ – “

His hands shoot out and grab Minho by the wrists, firmly but not in a way that would indicate he wanted to hurt the older boy. “…Hear me out. They knew that I needed to check up on you in the engineering building. While that didn’t turn out the way I thought it would…as far as they know, you were never there. As in you, _my classmate who’s also a compsci major_ and not you who’s actually the school hacker and now wanted vandal.”

After a moment of silence, Minho sighs and gently wrests his hands away from Jisung. “Good. That’s fine. As long as they don’t know anything about what I’m going to do next. Or rather, _we_.” Minho trails off as he stands up off the floor and takes his empty bowl to the kitchen, leaving Jisung tilting his head in confusion.

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me.” Minho doesn’t spare him a glance right as the sound of his voice is drowned out by the rushing water from his sink.

“Wait, wait, _wait_ , what is _we_ – I mean, what are _we_ doing?”

“You’re going to help me hack the administrative servers. After you royally botched my attempts at intimidating those criminals into coming clean – on top of getting me branded as a _vandal_ – surely you’ll find no reason to refuse…right?” Finally, the older boy raises his eyes to stare right at Jisung, and the fire burning behind his irises was enough to send a tingle down the younger boy’s spine.

“I…um…”

 _He’s right but…nothing about this seems ‘right’ to begin with. And yet…he’s justified in his reasons, and I’d just look like an ass to turn him down. Plus, he’d probably kick my ass if I refused._ A deep breath rises from his throat, and his eyes close momentarily while his mind clears. _…Do the right thing, Han Jisung._ When he opens his eyes again, Minho’s stare is still unflinching as he stands behind the partition between the kitchen and the living room.

“…So what’s the plan?”

* * *

Hyunjin nearly jumps out of his seat when Jisung barges into the clubroom that Friday, door flying and chairs toppling. With clenched fists and a deep breath stuck in his throat, Jisung manages to open his mouth long enough to expel a few syllables.

“Guys, I know something about the hacker.”

From across the room, Chan pauses in filing together his papers and deliberately raises his head to look at Jisung. His expression is nothing less than apprehension.

“…Jisung, are you sure?”

_I’m sorry, Minho hyung, but I gotta do this._ “Yes, yes I am.”

“Close the door. Changbin, make sure you keep an eye out. Everyone else, phones off, let’s huddle.” Chan’s voice is stern but calm, and everyone already inside the room swiftly shuffles together to gather by the front of the room.

Jisung is quick to get himself situated in a seat, but his pulse rises at the gravity of what he’s just admitted to everyone. _There’s no backtracking out of this one, you two-timing traitor, Han Jisung._ He takes another deep breath in the few seconds it takes for Chan to get to his usual spot behind the podium.

“So…what do you have for us, Jisung?” Jisung can’t help but force the lump in his throat down when he looks up at Chan. When last they’d talked in Jisung’s living room, with him covered in bruises not only on his face but _elsewhere on his body_ , he’d lied through his own teeth to save face for Minho. And now he’s going to unveil the next step in the hacker’s grand plan…and for what?

When Jisung tries to smile, it feels forced, and Hyunjin snickers next to him before Seungmin elbows him in the side.

“This is gonna sound _really_ shifty, but I need you guys to trust me. Y’all trust me, right?”

Chan narrows his eyes at him, and Jisung suddenly feels the weight of every pair of eyes in the room. “Jisung, what are you getting at?”

“Yeah, spill. You’re being super suspicious right now,” Changbin pipes in from all the way near the door.

“Jisung, whatever you’re going to say right now,” Seungmin mutters behind him, “you’d better get it together and get it correctly.” Jisung glances at Seungmin just in time for to catch the latter’s all-knowing but well-meaning look.

Chan’s face is calm but unreadable when Jisung returns his attention to him, which is usually the worst he’s ever seen it. (The last time he saw it was when they all rushed over to Felix’s dorm after he messaged their discord server saying he’d accidentally set the stove on fire.)

Jisung takes another deep breath before his face scrunches into that uncomfortable, plastic smile that makes all his face muscles ache. “I know who the hacker is.” A lull falls over everyone in the room as they wait for him to continue speaking. “And…I may have fudged some of the details of that night where I met the hacker.”

He almost jumps at the sound of Changbin loudly cracking both of his knuckles, but Chan is quick to wave him away with one of his hands. “Bin, no, let him finish.”

“ _Tch_.”

“Go on, Jisung.”

“Um…” By now, the weight of everyone’s eyes on him could have well been literal, especially now that the other four boys surrounding him were now situated much, much closer. He claps his hands together with a fat, goofy grin, before continuing. “Let me lay it down for you all.”

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for just a moment. “…The hacker is my classmate, Lee Minho. He was the one responsible for the first hacking incident and – “

“Wait,” Seungmin interjects, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. “ _That_ Minho? Like, _your boytoy_ Minho? The same one you said wasn’t even at the engineering department that night?”

“So that was a _lie_ ,” Changbin growls, now stalking towards Jisung as a brisk pace.

“Everyone _shut up_ for a moment and let Jisung finish.” Chan’s voice is louder, enough to make Jisung flinch in his chair, but he doesn’t lose any more of his cool after that. “Jisung, please continue.”

His fingers clasp together in front of him while he manages another heavy exhale. “He was _there_ this past weekend at the engineering building, and I managed to catch him before he got his weird little virus thing uploaded to the system. And this whole part is real, _I swear_ , I didn’t know it was him until I…accidentally blew up the lab and got his mask off.”

Chan gestures for Jisung to pause in the middle of his spiel before leaning forward on the podium, fingers tightly clutched around the wood framing. “…We keep interrupting you but…Jisung, understand that this is a _lot_ of information to process. Um.”

“I’m sorry,” Jisung squeaks.

“ _This is kinda juicy_ ,” Jeongin mutters to Felix right next to him, who only nods in agreement.

“I have so many questions,” the older man babbles, staring at Jisung in disbelief. “But first: why hide this information from us?”

It would have been so easy to outright say _I’ve been crushing over him for three months now and he literally bent me over a table and I loved every second of it_ , but Jisung knew there had to be a better – and more appropriate – way of phrasing that. “This makes me sound really shitty – I’ve _been_ sounding really shitty – but hear me out. Minho’s just…misunderstood. Maybe a little extreme, but everything comes from a legitimate place.”

“And you’re telling us this because we’re supposed to take pity on a _crook_?” Hyunjin retorts, prompting an impassioned frown from Jisung.

“Minho’s a good guy, I swear! He’s…not exactly well off like we are. He worked hard to get a scholarship for the university since he and his family can’t afford the tuition. And it’s not exactly easy to get by when there are other rich assholes trying to cash in on his work in the engineering major.” A sigh of frustration escapes him.

“But what does have to do with everything, exactly?” Seungmin asks.

“His professors are selling his work to upperclassmen,” Jisung responds, almost matter-of-factly, prompting a hushed murmur to fall over the room. “I’m telling you guys this because we can _stop him_ before he does something drastic. Chan hyung…I _know_ you can help him.”

Everyone turns their attention over to Chan, a stunned combination of confusion and confirmation that he himself seemed to mimic. Chan musters another deep breath and steels himself against the podium, before looking straight back at Jisung.”

“What else do you know?”

* * *

“L-Let me get this straight,” the older man begins, pausing momentarily just to take a sip out of his coffee. “Your…your _friend_ (at this point, Chan mimics airquotes with his fingers, prompting a look from Jisung) Minho has superpowers like we do, he trusts you enough to tell you what he’s gonna do next, _and_ he knows this club exists?”

“I should have just sewn your mouth shut last weekend, Sungie,” Changbin warns, snatching his drink off the table to take a thick sip.

Jisung bites down on a lip and tilts his head almost apologetically. “He…doesn’t know that I’m telling you guys all of this information. That and I didn’t tell him that we literally operate an underground ring of wannabe superheroes.”

“I take offense to that last part,” Chan pipes in with a small frown.

“So you’re double-crossing your little supervillain boyfriend? That’s pretty funny.” Seungmin chuckles derisively, drawing a look of ire from the shorter male.

“This is like something out of the webtoons I’ve been reading recently.” Felix grins through the boba straw sitting between his teeth. “ _The hero has to break his lover’s heart to save him_ …it’s so romantic but it’s so dramatic, I could literally cry.”

“Send me that one later,” Jeongin replies; Jisung simply rolls his eyes and tunes them out.

“Y’know, Felix kinda has a point. _Yes_ , we have to do something about him before he does something extreme, but you have to be okay with the possibility that your friendship with him – or whatever’s left of it – may be different after all of this.” Even Chan’s warm, firm hand on his shoulder wasn’t enough to dissuade the troubled expression spreading across his face.

Jisung shakes his head defiantly, his bangs swaying wildly in front of his eyes. “It’s okay, I’ve already kinda made peace with that. But if there was a way for me to help him out and keep him from digging a deeper hole then I’m all for it.”

Chan’s lips curl into his trademark smile and nothing can stop Jisung from mirroring his expression.

The sound of Hyunjin chuckling draws his attention over, and he watches the taller boy lean back in his chair nonchalantly. “Y’know, it’s kinda funny thinking about it in hindsight. You were really fixated on inviting him to my party – you were _basically_ babysitting your phone the entire night. Little did you know he was _actually_ your archnemesis this entire time. It really is just like that webtoon Lix was talking about.”

“ _Told you_ ,” Felix chirps from behind them.

“Now if this is _Han Jisung_ we’re talking about, he’d play the role of the femme fatale and seduce his way into the supervillain’s pants, just so he could find out their secret plan and cut the evil at its roots,” Seungmin adds, unaware of the expanding, quivering smile on Jisung’s face.

Jisung stands frozen in his spot, his eyes dilating and his cheeks slowly burning as he remembered the _physical imprint_ of Lee Minho all on his body that night.

“You _were_ expecting to get laid on Hyunjin’s birthday, right Jisung?”

He opens his mouth to speak, but only manages an awkward wheeze of a laugh. “ _Hm_. A-About that.”

Seungmin turns to him and bats his eyelashes. “…Huh?”

Jisung’s unsettling grin shrinks into a tight pout. “Ah…um…”

The taller boy’s eyes widen at Jisung. “Oh my God. You little _whore_. You actually _slept_ with him?”

“I’ll entertain any questions pertaining to my sex life _after_ this meeting – “

“When did you sleep with him? Did you have sex with him for _information_?”

“Did you do it on my _birthday?!_ ”

“I said _after_ the meeting…!” Jisung turned to Chan with a crazed look in his eyes, cheeks puffed up and tinted red with heat. “Chan…if you will? _Please?_ ”

While Changbin started snickering on the side and the remainder of the boys fell into hushed conversation, Chan simply let out a deep sigh. “…Right. I think we’ve heard all that we’ve needed,” he pauses to glance at Jisung’s souring face, “but we will continue keeping in close contact.” The older student then faced Jisung, who was one second away from sneaking out of the room.

“Jisung…thank you for sharing all that information with us. Maybe a little too much, but – and I’m not saying you are or that you’ve done it, _but_ – I’d like you to continue talking with Minho, if just to keep up pretenses, of course. And if you happen on any new information, let us know as soon as possible. We’re counting on you here.” He raised his eyebrows at Jisung, and the younger boy exhaled and nodded.

“I got you, hyung.”

The meeting goes smoothly for the short amount of time that they had with them inside the classroom, and while Jisung would not be allowed to talk about it when they went out for boba right after, he was more than able to list out the entirety of Minho’s plan before the meeting ended.

Because Minho was smarter than the average cookie, the date for his latest plan was to take place the next Friday – almost two weeks to the botched hacking at the engineering building. Of course, this was entirely because campus authorities and security would be swarming even after a week, on top of him continuing to evade the scrutiny of the investigation. Not that it was difficult for him and his hacking skills.

However, no amount of campus security surrounding the engineering building was going to stop Minho from sticking to his guns; his target for the night was an entirely different location altogether. His grand plan involved infiltrating the faculty building and uploading a _trojan_ into the central system that would expose not only the names of the students partaking in the academic dishonesty scheme, but also the _professor_ who was directly selling his work along with others.

The look of horror that dawned upon Jisung’s face that night was all too obvious, but he rebuked any offers the older student had to skip out on the mission. And it was his reluctance to pull out that made it feasible for the _SMAC_ to plan the perfect ambush. Aside from that, keeping up pretenses with Minho was still as easy and natural as walking on his own two feet.

And yet, between them nudging each other’s knees during class and communicating discreetly via text (and at least one instance of them sucking each other’s necks during a so-called _study date_ ), the feeling that he was double-crossing and betraying Minho continued to nag at the back of his head. Jisung secretly hoped that this wasn’t “choosing between allegiances” like Chan told him, as an act of reassurance.

Of course, a week is still a week, and Jisung finds himself back in the club room amongst the six other members of the _SMAC_. They all arrived early for once, per Chan’s orders, and he silently twiddled his thumbs next to Seungmin as they waited for their usually punctual leader to enter the room.

“You’re normally more talkative, Jisung, so this is bothering me,” Seungmin chides, popping a potato chip between his teeth and letting it crunch in his mouth.

Jisung lets out the sigh he’d been holding in his throat and faces Seungmin’s casually snide face. “You’re doing that on purpose.”

“What?” More crunching.

“ _You_ – okay, you obviously want to hear something, so just come out and say it.” A slightly annoyed pout forms out of Jisung’s puffed up cheeks, and Seungmin only smirks at him before putting away his chip bag.

“Are you going to be holding up alright tonight? You’ve seemed out of it ever since last Friday,” the taller boy asks, folding his hands together and giving Jisung his undivided attention.

Jisung leans onto his elbows and props his face up on the table. “It doesn’t feel good knowing I’m basically betraying his trust. And while I’ve been doing my job to make sure he doesn’t catch on…what if he already knows?”

“You really like this guy, huh?”

Jisung squirms a bit in his chair at the blunt question. “…I think he’s really cool, and I really wanted y’all to meet him, but he’s _actually the school hacker_ and now we’re gonna ambush him. Not exactly the meeting I had intended, and not very easy on the brain.”

Beside him, Hyunjin pulls up a chair and slings a comforting arm around Jisung’s shoulders. “Think about it this way; if Chan hyung actually manages to get him to come around, then I’m sure we’re going to all be getting off on the right foot.”

“After a few missteps and tripping,” Seungmin quips.

“Yes, after a few missteps and tripping.”

“Oi, we having a big group hug here? Something the matter?” Felix asks as he approaches the trio with a cherry red lollipop between his fingers.

Jisung doesn’t let the chuckle erupting from his throat stop there and haphazardly waves them all off. “God, y’all are getting too sappy for me. I’m _shuddering_.”

“Hyunjin is right, though. If all goes relatively well – and honestly, I’d be surprised it things _did_ go smoothly considering the rickshaw presence of the steamboat that is _SMAC_ – then we’d just have another powerful player on our team.” Seungmin raises an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

“And you keep your boyfriend,” Hyunjin adds.

“He’s _not_ my boyfriend.”

“What superpower does your boyfriend have again?”

Before Jisung can answer Felix’s query, Chan steps in through the door with a light hop in his step and two hefty-looking plastic bags in his hands.

“Good afternoon, everybody! Sorry, I’m late, but if you could all get settled in a chair, we can start the meeting as soon as possible. We have a _lot_ to go over before the critical operation tonight, and as a little treat for all of you…” The moment he arrives at his usual spot behind the podium, Chan hoists both bags onto the polished, aged surface. “I stopped by the café down the street after class and got some bread and drinks.”

A collective chorus of _oohs_ and _ahhs_ swarms the room, complete with Changbin in the corner going ‘ _ehhh?!_ ’.

Chan suddenly slams his palms down on the podium, startling everyone in the room and almost sending Hyunjin tumbling out of his seat. “First things first.” The eldest student’s face then turns towards Jisung in the most threatening manner, an uncanny grin plastered right across his jaw.

* * *

“Let’s go over the plan one more time altogether just to make sure we’re all crystal clear.” It was a spotless evening with nothing but a light breeze in the air and no grey clouds breaking through the pitch black sky. All of _SMAC_ reported to their usual nighttime haunt, the university football field. Despite all this, the temperature was barely above forty degrees, and the seven of them were huddled around a delicate flame sprouting out of Felix’s hands. Chan’s face remained resolute despite the cold, but he also happened to be wearing a cozy, fur-lined pilot’s uniform, like something Jisung’s seen Captain America wear in one of the _Avengers_ films.

Jisung hasn’t worn his suit since the incident in the engineering building, but even the memories of that night aren’t enough to keep the cold from seeping through the tough fabric. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

“The faculty building is just on the other side of the football field, and Minho’s apartment is down that street over there.” He trembles as he raises a hand and points at the opposite end of the turf, where the chain link fence connects to the street and rows of houses beyond. Hyunjin throws an arm around his smaller frame in some effort to help him stay warmer, and Jisung briefly wonders if his ice powers help him stave off any of the cold.

“We’ve arrived a good deal earlier than Minho hyung, and assuming that he’s nowhere else on campus – I don’t think he would be? – then he’s going to be cutting through the football field to get to the faculty building. I do need you guys to hide so that he doesn’t sense y’all in the immediate area.”

“Where should we hide?” Changbin asked as he adjusted the fingerless, studded gloves on his hands. In contrast to Chan and his relatively warm and well-weathered ensemble, Changbin is perhaps wearing the _least_ out of all of them, his “supersuit” not consisting of much other than a pair of combat boots, heavy duty pants, a slim-fitting undershirt, and a studded biker vest. All in black, of course.

“Maybe the opposite end of the football field? The farther the better, just so my personal aura can better mask all of yours when I meet him at the other side of the field. I’ll come down to the center with Minho hyung and that will be the point where you all come in for the bait-and-switch. Chan hyung, that will be on your call.”

“Got it.”

“And this is the part where Jeongin’s powers are going to be _really_ important.”

They all turned to Jeongin, who was adjusting the pristine white domino mask covering his eyes. Hyunjin let out a little snicker beside Jisung; it was the first time they were seeing the supersuit Chan’s sister shipped over and while Jeongin did look handsome, he also looked like a certain rose-toting phantom thief from a 90s magical girl anime. “What?”

Jisung flashed him a gummy smile he couldn’t stifle. “It’s going to be a little scary because Minho hyung is…intimidating, but I trust you can do the bait-and-switch flawlessly. We’re still trying to figure out the extent of your powers, but you know it best out of all of us. Can you do that, Innie?”

“O-Of course! You can count on me!”

“Right.” Jisung breathed deeply and continued to rub his hands over Felix’s flames. “The most important thing to know is that Minho is a _very_ skilled fighter, and his power makes it even harder to outlast him.”

Changbin snorted beside him. “ _Obviously_.”

He only rolled his eyes and continued speaking. “On top of that, he’s _very good_ at making an escape. Changbin hyung, you’re going to the best at hand to hand combat, and you’ll have Felix along with you to whittle him down. Your power is going to make it easy to hit him twice as hard, and if Felix happens to light you on fire, that just makes you stronger, no?”

“ _Aish_ , Jisung – “

“I’ll do my best, hyung!” Felix’s face stretched into a grin and his fire flared up for a brief moment, startling everyone and sending Hyunjin scurrying.

“ _Felix_ ,” Chan warned as he placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry, got a little excited.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Jisung resumes as they all circle up once more. “Hyunjin and I will keep him at range, mostly because I’m scared of electrocuting everyone and Hyunjin can slow him down with ice.”

The taller boy shrugged nonchalantly and smirked at Jisung. “Shouldn’t be a problem.” In some respects – and despite Jisung being in love with the design of his own supersuit – he was quite jealous of what Chan’s sister conjured up for Hyunjin. The cryopath’s supersuit made Hyunjin look both like an elite member of the king’s guard in feudal Korea…and a model at Seoul Fashion Week.

“Seungmin and Chan hyung are our wild cards.” Jisung then turned his attention to Seungmin, and the latter nodded and held up a length of rope.

“Just toss the rope over and bind him with it, right?” Seungmin’s personal supersuit _actually_ made him look like a superhero, being a black bodysuit with silvery-white armor on top. The boy wondered why he had to wear so much armor when much of his powers allowed him to _avoid_ close combat.

“And I’ll be there to tie up any loose ends, if need be,” Chan interjects.

“Correct. Your power is _super_ strong, hyung, but you can only use it for so long before you’re out of the game. That’s why you’re our last resort. If anything happens, you’ll be the last line of defense, so to speak.”

Chan simply nodded. “Are we all clear on this, boys?”

The remainder of them emphatically voiced their agreement, before Seungmin hushed them all for being too loud.

“Alright, we’ll get into position; Jisung, it’s all on you now.”

Jisung inhaled deeply and relished the sharp, cold air surging through his nostrils. Felix dispersed his flames and firmly clutched Jisung’s shoulder in reassurance before they all jogged over to the opposite end of the field. The freckled boy looked entirely different in his suit, very obviously modeled and inspired by the rabble-rousers from _Mad Max_. The black and red, leather and spikes ensemble could not have been more fitting for someone like Felix. Jisung firmly marched towards the direction of Minho’s apartment, and upon looking back at the others over his shoulder, noticed that they all disappeared into thin air.

_…Okay, so this is actually happening now._ The blonde readjusted his goggles and quickened his pace towards the chain link fence; the brand new phone in his pocket felt heavier with each step.

There was an opening in the fence that led out into one of the campus parking lots; it was here that Jisung was supposed to await Minho’s arrival. It felt…strange being in this position, expecting and _knowing_ that he was arriving, unlike their past two encounters. He’d be lying if he said his chest wasn’t about to explode from all this anxiety. Felix’s fire powers would have been so handy right now.

Leaning against a nearby police box and making sure to stay out of sight, Jisung tried calculating the myriad ways in which their little operation could fall apart. Thinking about the possibilities was the only way for him to not think about how cold he currently was.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re freezing to death.”

Jisung jumped, yelping out loud before realizing who it was that suddenly appeared next to him.

“God, why are you so skittery all of a sudden…?” Minho scoffed as he lifted his mask out of the way to look at him. A thin smirk adorned his face, and Jisung’s cheeks began to warm up as the older boy came into proper view. Minho’s armored bodysuit still shone in that signature purplish-green glow, and even better now that they were outside by the distant lights of the parking lot.

 _That suit looks too fucking good on him, I swear._ The blonde shook his head and removed his goggles to get a better look at the older student.

“Are you good? You gonna be okay? You looked like you were thinking too hard when I got here.”

_Ah. So I’d literally just been standing here panicking for ten minutes._

Jisung waved his hands nonchalantly, feigning any sort of inner distress. “I-I’m fine. Just trying not to think about how cold it is.”

Minho scoffed and turned to walk in the direction of the faculty building. “Okay, you big baby. Come along, we have a job to do.”

He replaced his goggles over his eyes and jogged to catch up with the other boy, joints still stiff from standing stock still in the cold for the past ten minutes.

“Heh, you’re really, um, stocked up tonight,” Jisung mutters idly as he eyes the hefty looking bag slung across Minho’s body and hanging at his side.

“Of course. I have a spare laptop that’s ready to plug in, some backups if need be – _just in case you decide to get a little trigger happy again_.”

“Sorry again for that.”

Minho simply snickered and pulled him closer with an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. I always bounce back, and when I do, I bounce back twice as strong.” He enthusiastically patted the bag by his side for emphasis.

While Jisung briefly relished the feeling of being this close to his much warmer body, he couldn’t help but feel the anxiety returning as they neared the center of the football field.

“You’re quieter than usual – you’re not having second thoughts now, are you?” They slowed to a halt in the center of the field, before Minho turned to look at him. “If you don’t wanna do this, I can just do it myself.”

Jisung’s eyes widened behind his tinted goggles, and he was glad that Minho wouldn’t easily notice the look of apprehension in his irises. He inhaled sharply and shook his head defiantly; he didn’t know where the other boys were hiding but he hoped his own presence would be able to block out the faint traces of their aura in the surrounding area.

“It’s…it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but…I’mma ask you again: don’t you think this is a little extreme? I’m sure we can find a solution that doesn’t involving doxing someone and inviting more authorities on campus?” Jisung tried to flash him a docile smile, but the frown on Minho’s face slowly turned into a snarl.

“Look; _I get it_ , this seems a little crazy and I understand that. But if you’re not here to help me, Jisung, you don’t have to be here. But I can’t let you out of my sight with the knowledge that you know every detail of my plan. So what are we gonna do about that?” Minho crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest, and suddenly Jisung felt the sparks tingling at his fingertips. “I took you down once, I can take you down again. What’s it gonna be?”

A faint glimmer of light twinkle in the corner of Jisung’s peripherals, as if someone had briefly reflected light off of a mirror. “…Minho hyung, I hope you don’t hate me for what I’m gonna do.”

“And exactly _what_ are you gonna do?”

Jisung paused for a moment, before nodding his head in a direction behind Minho.

The older boy tilted his head in confusion and turned around to come face to face with none other than a young man clad in a neatly pressed costume. A velvety black top hat sat squarely on his head, and they only grinned behind the comfort of their pristine white domino mask.

“ _Boo_.”

An ear-piercing shriek erupted from the hacker as he stumbled away from Jeongin. “J-Jisung, what the fu – “

And yet, when he turned back to the perky blonde, the unknown male stood there instead, beaming fox-like beneath their pristine mask.

“Hi there! Am I scaring you?”

The question had barely left their lips before Minho swung a fist at him. The image of the smiling phantom thief shattered into dust right in front of him, causing Minho to recoil in terror. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears as the glass-like shards of the young man faded into the plastic, green turf underneath his boots.

“Jisung?! This isn’t fucking funny!” Minho whipped around again, screaming into the empty, cold air and expecting to see the young man’s unsettling grin again.

“Hey, asshole!”

He swerved once again and narrowly dodged a studded fist flying towards his face. He grinded teeth together as he dodged another fist coming from the opposite direction and craned himself back to get a better look at his assailant. It was a shorter male this time, a very different one from the one with the unsettling, fox-like grin. He looked like he’d just stepped off of a Harley Davidson with the amount of studs and decals littered across his outfit.

Minho watched as a shark-like grin stretched across the man’s face and quickly ducked. His eyes flew open beneath his visor as a fireball flew overhead, and he could smell the hair on the back of his neck burning.

“ _Aye!_ Watch where you’re throwing that, Felix!”

“Sorry!”

“ _Hey!_ What the _fuck_ is going on here?!” Minho growled as he rapidly looked between the shark-toothed man in front of him, and the _third_ combatant that joined the fight. Minho blinked profusely at the sight of the third boy, a skinny fellow with snow white hair and an equally mischievous grin. His outstretched fists blazed with bright orange flame, prompting Minho to briskly put himself in a more advantageous position.

He ducked under a swing of a leather-and-studded fist, before spinning away from another fireball. He turned just in time to see the blazing ball hit the other male in the chest, sending them staggering a few feet away.

“I said, _watch it_ , Felix!”

“I’m trying my hardest, okay?!”

The leather-clad boy suddenly shifted his attention back to Minho, and the hacker swore for just a moment that the already intense aura he was emanating suddenly amplified, pressing him to take a more defensive stance.

“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here? Jisung, where the hell did you – _ack!_ ” Minho swerved just in time for another fireball to fly in front of his nose. As soon as the blazing ball of flame passed, he twisted towards the pyrokinetic and grabbed him by his shirt.

The white haired boy yelped as Minho hefted him around with all his strength, only to collide with the other boy’s fist. He wheezed and doubled over into the other boy’s arms after the impact of the latter’s fist settled into his stomach.

From outside Minho’s periphery, Jisung winced as he witnessed the exchange, ending with Changbin trying his best to steady the other boy before Minho came in for the next phase of his assault. It seemed that the hacker had no difficulty fending off more than one opponent at a time; perhaps it was prudent to send in the next phase of their attack.

“…Innie, how long can you keep up your illusions?” Jisung asked as he looked over at masked boy standing next to him.

“Uh, it’s not particularly difficult, though I have to somewhat maintain focus. Why?”

“I think we’re ready to send in the next layer. What do you think, Chan hyung?”

Beside the both of them, Chan crossed his arms and carefully surveyed the ongoing fight, akin to spectators looking over an arena. “Wow, he’s…more than keeping up his pace. Jisung, we’re going to need more firepower to slow him down, but it’s ultimately your call.”

Jisung scrunched his nose and looked over at the opposite side, where Hyunjin and Seungmin stood at the ready.

“You need to be careful though; Felix is already a bit of a firecracker, and Jeongin is already in the line of fire. If Jeongin loses focus – “

“Y-You can count on me! I won’t let the illusion down until you tell me to,” the younger boy stammers but without tearing his eyes away from the three fighters in front of him. Just as he did so, they all watched as Minho launched a fist into an unsuspecting Felix, only for the latter to burst into a flurry of flames – dazzling him just long enough for Changbin to land a well-placed kick into his back.

The _actual_ Felix reemerged beside Changbin, prompting the older boy to quickly let out a “how the _fuck_ did you do that?!”.

“I-I don’t know!”

“Good job, Innie,” Chan commended with a triumphant smirk before turning back to Jisung. “Your call now.”

The blonde responded with a curt nod and looked across the clearing where the other two stood. “Hyunjin! You’re up!”

A sheer layer of sweat had begun forming at Minho’s brow as a result of the intense flames soaring through the air, as well as the other man managing to keep up with him. _I need to take down the fire guy first. He seems to be the easier –_

His eyes flew open and he immediately turned his head just in time to see an icicle fly past him with a sharp, thin whistling tone.

_…Ice?_

Minho turned to shield himself from a large chunk of ice and only grimaced as he heard the other two combatants jeering behind him.

“Glad for you to join the party, Jinnie!”

“Took you long enough!”

A smirk decorated Hyunjin’s face as he continued to lob endless shards of ice at Minho’s armored form; nonetheless, the latter remained steadfast against the cool barrage.

“C’mon, get him while his defenses are down!” the tall boy commanded as he stretched out his palm, expelling a particularly large block of ice into Minho’s chest, momentarily staggering him.

Minho raised his eyes to see the new combatant in their makeshift arena, meeting the eyes of a tall and slender individual across from him clad in billowing silk robes. _How many of them are there…? Jisung didn’t mention they were all fighters…_ He ducked to avoid another icicle, which landed on Changbin right behind him instead, judging from the other boy’s impassioned grunt.

His eyes flared as he felt the other boy’s aura surge momentarily and rolled to avoid a sudden tackle.

“Jisung, your boyfriend is a _real pain in this ass_ , y’know that?” Changbin growled as he pushed himself back up off the floor, his eyes burning up as he looked up at Minho. As the other two boys positioned themselves beside Changbin, Minho swiped at his nose with a knuckle and prepped himself in a defensive stance.

His lips curled into a tantalizing smirk, and that being the only sight visible beneath his visor made Changbin’s blood boil…and sent a chill down Hyunjin’s spine.

“So…what’s our plan?” Hyunjin timidly whispered to Changbin, and the older boy ground his teeth together in frustration.

“We might…need reinforce – “

“ _Take this!_ ”

Without any preamble, Felix let out a guttural cry and launched two fireballs toward Minho in successor, flooding the immediate area in intense heat and light. From afar, Jisung and the remaining _SMAC_ members shielded their eyes from the immediate blast. Jeongin cried out and reined in his arms to cover his eyes, dispelling his illusion instantly.

Jisung gritted his teeth as the light faded, and the only thing that remained was the cloud of smoke and the smell of burnt plastic. The seven of them held their breaths as they wondered what remained of Felix’s pyrotechnics show. A cloud of dark smoke permeated the immediate area, obscuring their vision of where the hacker previously remained.

“Felix, what did you…?” Hyunjin muttered cautiously in between coughs, turning to the white haired boy with plate-like eyes.

“I-I…don’t know, I just thought we needed an opening and – “

“ _Everyone settle down!_ ” Jisung yelled, before taking hurried steps toward the epicenter of the blast.

“Jisung, wait just a moment,” Seungmin warned as he tried to approach the blonde.

“No, everyone just chill out and put your damn powers away, we’re _not_ about to fucking murder him – “

He felt like his head was spinning, and admittedly his ears were ringing from the explosion so he couldn’t even hear Seungmin and Changbin yelling at him to step away from the area. And when Jisung walked into the thickness of the smoke, his eyes instantly met those familiar, burning irises, the same ones he’d stared into all semester long.

“ _Oh no you don’t – !_ ”

As quickly as Jisung’s eyes met Minho’s, the young man broke into an immediate sprint, running at him with those burning irises. His mask had broken apart in the blast, only shards of broken plastic and glass on the scorched ground behind him. And just before he reached Jisung, Chan’s body manifested out of thin air and collided into Minho’s, sending both men tumbling onto the scorched turf in a ridiculously unimpressive fashion. Jisung’s mouth lay agape as he stumbled backwards in shock, his gaze following the pair as they continued to roll down the length of the field with their limbs locked up in each other.

“ _Get…off…of me…!_ ”

“ _Seungmin…do it…now!_ ” The sound of Chan’s strained voice pulled everyone else out of their collective daze, and the remaining six of them scrambled toward the tussling males.

A sudden tension overcame the battlefield, as if the air pressure was slowly rising, and Jisung turned to see Seungmin in the very back, his fluffy hair whipping about – even if there was no wind blowing. His arms were stretched far in front of him, and the coil of silvery nylon rope Chan handed him was now unraveling like a thin, long snake writhing in mid-air. The sight was almost mesmeric, had it not been for Seungmin hissing at him right then and there.

“Hey Jisung; stop staring at me and get over to those two. I need all the concentration I can get if I want to land this rope on the _correct_ person,” Seungmin snapped, nodding over at Chan and Minho still trying to assert dominance over each other.

Jisung gawked and looked between them. “I…a-are you sure? You’re not going to hurt him, right?”

“I’m not going to _if you leave me to concentrate_.”

“R-Right.” Jisung looked back at the two brawling on the floor; Chan had successfully pinned him to the ground for about half a second before Minho shoved a hand in his face, trying his hardest to shove him off. It was somewhat amusing in the moment, but the sudden redness on Chan’s face instantly reminded Jisung that he was undergoing the immediate consequences of split-second time control.

He swallowed thickly and nodded at Seungmin, who reciprocated the action, before joining the others in forming a defensive perimeter around the two.

“Changbin, Hyunjin, get ready!” Jisung cried out just as he skidded to a stop on the turf, the heels of his boots digging into the fake grass. “Felix, Jeongin, standby!” The four of them voiced their tense agreements while fanning out in a wide arc around Chan and Minho. The two men brawling on the floor seemed to be inching closer to breaking their stalemate, but it was a matter of _who_ would emerge victorious.

“Get the fuck… _off of me_ …!”

Nearly seconds after they all stepped into formation, they watched as Minho managed to slip his foot in underneath Chan, and sent the other man flying with a powerful kick to the chest. Jisung’s body twitched and tensed in the split second right after, like his body was willing him to just _go_. Even sooner than that did the sound of a _whip_ _crack_ echo through the air, accompanied by a flash of silver.

Jisung yelped and jumped back as Minho fell to the floor once more with a loud cry, his arms now bound to his sides by the silver rope wrapped around him.

With wide eyes, Jisung turned his attention to Seungmin, who slowly lowered his arms to the floor with a deliberate, controlled exhale. Even from where he was standing, he could see the beads of sweat that accumulated on the esper’s forehead.

Seungmin simply regarded him with a look of mild contempt that Jisung couldn’t help but chuckle at.

“…God, you’re a real tough cookie, aren’t ya?” Chan managed to croak out as Changbin came around to help him off the ground, wincing just a bit as he managed to plant one boot on the grass.

Minho had stopped writhing against the _surprisingly_ well wound binding on his person ( _“I told you I needed to concentrate.” “No one’s doubting your handiwork, Seungmin.”_ ) and remained face down on the floor. Jisung was certain he wasn’t the only one that could feel the _rage_ seething from his body.

“ _Hey! Chan is talking to you, dipshi_ – “

Changbin stopped in his brief tirade after feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder and glanced down to see Chan shaking his head.

“There’s no use trying to get a rise out of him now. We’re all pretty tired and tuckered out.”

Changbin sighed and closed his eyes. “…Aight, what do you suppose we should do now?”

Now that the situation had deescalated…what were they now, other than a group of college students in costumes? The scent of burnt plastic lingered in the air and made Jeongin’s nose twitch.

“How about we take our little powwow somewhere less _open_ , for starters?” Seungmin quips, an inquisitive look hanging off his brow and his hands poised on his hips. “There’s no guarantee that no one heard us in that little showdown, and I’d rather not get caught out here looking like _this_ ,” he flatly explains while gesturing at their various states of cosplay.

Chan inhaled sharply and managed a half-effort smile. “Good idea. Pack it in, boys.”

A grunt of discontent rumbled from Minho on the ground.

* * *

The university may have been generous in living space toward students aiming to live in the dormitories, but that didn’t mean that Jisung’s single bedroom apartment at the dorms was meant to contain more than four people at a time – and _certainly_ not eight grown men.

Here they were now, situated on Jisung’s couch (and elsewhere there might be sitting room), directly across from the hacker himself, now bound by his arms to one of Jisung’s dining chairs. The scrutiny of the other seven boys combined was enough for Minho to focus his attention on the corner of the coffee table in between them, haphazardly padded down with a cube of styrofoam, likely due to more than one instance of bruised knees.

Jisung in particular was fixated on his surprisingly pristine visage. Not because he was handsome – and he _was_ , Jisung was clear on that – but because any sign of rough and tumble he had participated in the last hour was erased from his features, unlike Changbin and Chan, who were sporting some relatively unsightly bruises and cuts on their faces.

Minho notes the uncomfortable silence in the room and discreetly peeks up at the other boys, confirming that they indeed were still staring at him.

“…Um, I know this is supposed to be an interrogation or whatever, but can you at least _say something_ instead of just staring – “

Changbin rises from his seat on Jisung’s tiny couch and shakes a finger in Minho’s direction, an interrogative look already painted across his features. “…You…you don’t have any bruises or cuts on you at all, even though we were literally slugging each other out on the football field…!”

“I told you his power was interesting,” Jisung interrupts with a sigh. “What is it called again, hyung?”

Minho rolls his eyes and tries not to let the exhaustion show too obviously on his face. “…My power is enhanced regeneration. I recover from bodily harm at a rate faster than even the springiest chickens.”

Jeongin lets out a sound of curious amazement, as if he wasn’t the one person in the room that was capable of altering the perception of reality at a moment’s notice. Felix nods along in honest astonishment.

“Wow, dude. No wonder you were able to handle my fireball. Sorry about that, by the way,” the white haired boy eagerly amends.

“That makes you sound extremely similar to Changbin, honestly,” Chan replies, leaning on a hand carefully as he calmly scrutinized Minho’s features.

“I am _nothing_ like him, Chan hyung – “

“True,” Seungmin interrupts as a thin smirk forms on his face. “You’re hotheaded and impulsive, and it seems like Minho hyung is patient and analytic.”

Changbin growls at the both of them before cracking his fingers, and Minho regards the both of them with a devilish grin.

“Thank you, _Doctor Strange_.”

The smirk on Seungmin’s face easily molds into a grimace, so much that Hyunjin quickly stops laughing beside him when he gives the other boy a strong look.

“…And that is _why_ , Changbin hyung, I think you of all people should give Minho hyung’s power a little test run.”

The leather-clad boy was already rising from his seat and cracking his fingers. “ _Don’t mind if I_ – “

“No, _no_ , there will be no beating each other up tonight,” Jisung swiftly interjects as he moves to get in between Changbin and Minho.

“If we cut off a finger, will it grow back?” Jeongin asks quizzically.

“Can we borrow a knife, Sungie?” Felix immediately adds.

“Okay, okay, _settle down_ ,” comes Chan’s authoritative voice, complete with a firm hand on both Jeongin and Changbin’s shoulders, as well as a stern look at both Felix and Seungmin. “We’re supposed to convince him to join the _SMAC_ , but y’all are making a _terrible_ first impression.”

Minho scoffs and rolls his eyes playfully. “As if ambushing me in the football field 7-to-1 wasn’t enough of a first impression.”

A sigh of resignation seems to slip from Chan’s lips, but he immediately clasps his hands together and stares Minho right in the eye.

“Look; we could really use someone like you on the team. I’m sure you have your concerns about what exactly we can do about your situation – and Jisung’s explained all of it to us – and you’re completely valid in how you feel about us and the privileges we have as…the wealthier kids on campus.” Chan pauses to look at Jisung, who has now quieted down on the recliner closest to Minho.

“…It’s just…your methods can get you into a whole lot of trouble if something messes up down the line. It almost did, when Jisung interrupted you during one of your sessions last week. I promise; we’re just looking out for people just like us, powers and all.” A warm smile spreads across Chan’s otherwise battered features, and Minho timidly moves his gaze over to Jisung instead, who is still staring down into his own lap.

“…And if I refuse?” Minho mutters, not tearing his eyes away from the blonde’s tousled locks.

“We’re gonna have to take you to the coppers, dude,” Hyunjin instantly replies. He recoils with a whimper when Minho levels him with a death glare.

“Technically, Hyunjin’s not wrong,” Seungmin says as he enters the conversation in Hyunjin’s stead. “We have more than enough evidence for the police to be able to pin the crimes on you.”

“ _But_ , but. I can be reasonable.” Chan grins again with open arms. “We have money, connections. We may be rich, but we’re not assholes. And we’re perfectly happy to help out someone who’d been affected by the comet – “

“ – _Levanter_. Right?”

“Yes.”

Minho remembers hearing about the comet as a kid and wishing upon it like a falling star, as the fairytales usually insisted. While he wasn’t sure when his powers manifested, he was always rather curious about his unnatural sturdiness and ability to bounce back.

“We’re still kind of a ragtag team of misfits, but money can only get you so far, y’know? Someone with your talent for computers and my _god_ , those reflexes, dude! It really took the seven of us to take you down. You’d be a powerful asset to the club.”

“Hyung, you’re honestly really scary, but you’re also super cool,” Jeongin quietly admits as he clutches onto his top hat.

“And it’s great to have someone that _actually_ knows about comic books and superheroes for once.” The laugh that comes out of Felix’s mouth is enough to lift some of the tension in the room, and Minho can’t help but crack a smile of his own.

“Uh, thanks, um… _Tuxedo Mask_ and _Human Torch_.”

Felix regales everyone with a flourish to indicate that his point has been made.

Changbin scratches the back of his head shyly and glances between the hacker and Jisung. “…Y’know, Jisung cares a lot about you. We never would have gone after you tonight if he didn’t think it was important to keep you from making a decision you might have regretted.”

Jisung perks up and raises his head to look at everyone, but the flush on his cheeks gives him away. His lips part as if to speak, but Seungmin has already beaten him to the punch.

“Y’know, I was always really skeptical about meeting you since Jisung _never_ shuts up about you, and I gotta say: I’m even less enthused now that this was our first meeting. But hey, if you keep him happy, then I’m fine with it.” The air around Seungmin is different from the others and judging by the casual and affable look on his face, Minho knows they’ll tolerate each other…at best.

Minho finally returns this gaze to Jisung, and the younger boy sheepishly averts his eyes with a goofy smile spread thinly on his lips.

“Hyung…we’re friends. _A little bit closer than friends might be_ , but I still care about you a lot. And I don’t want you getting in trouble, especially if I can do anything about it,” Jisung murmurs, just loud enough to rest over the lull of the living room.

The smile forming on Minho’s face mirrors that of Jisung’s, and if his hands weren’t currently bound, he’s sure he would have ruffled his blonde locks like a dog. Or perhaps more.

“…Fine. I’ll join your little club. Not like I have any other beneficial alternatives, anyway.”

A jovial cheer of reasonable volume (because it _is_ nearly one in the morning) spreads throughout the room, and even Jisung and Minho are grinning at each other like it had all just been some silly prank on a prank show.

“Just know that you’re not gonna be scot-free after all this,” Changbin grumbles while crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Would love to get all fired up and see how long two black eyes heal up on that pretty face of yours.”

“So you think I’m _pretty_?”

“That’s _not_ – “

“Let’s not get too rowdy,” Chan reminds Changbin, placing another gentle hand on his shoulder. “We can work out the logistics of your theoretical punishment…another time. It’s almost one in the morning, I’m aching in places that I didn’t think I could ache in, and I’m sure we all have beds that we’d like to get ourselves into just about now.”

“Amen to that,” Felix replies.

“Anything to get me away from Minho hyung, _please_ ,” Hyunjin immediately adds, before hopping off the couch and scurrying behind Seungmin.

“I’m not gonna _hurt_ you, _Frozone_.”

“And you won’t, because you’ll be staying here in Jisung’s apartment, where he can keep an eye on you.”

Jisung’s eyes twinkle as he turns to face Chan, who only responds to his look of incredulity with a look of expectation.

“You _will_ keep an eye on him, won’t you, Sungie?”

“I mean, you’re the only person Minho trusts, anyway,” Seungmin jests while dragging Hyunjin toward the door.

“I…suppose so. I’m just surprised.”

“ _Please_ , no more surprises, Jisung,” pleads Changbin, who rises from the couch and eagerly stretches his arms above his head. “Unlike Mr. Neosporin here, some of us will need a couple of days to recuperate from trying to take down his slippery ass.”

And so they all bade their farewells to Jisung and Minho, with Chan leaving explicit instructions to keep him tied up in the chair and to contact them immediately should Minho try and pull anything suspicious. The hacker simply flashed them a lifeless grin as they all shuffled out of the apartment one by one, if only to try and lessen the chances of them being spotted out and about in their hero costumes.

Jisung would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn’t the slightest bit anxious about being left alone with Minho. His mind ran a mile a minute, with pervasive thought upon pervasive thought fighting for dominance in his head like a wrestling royal rumble.

“…Hey Jisung.”

His eyes fly open and the reality settles in once more; he is alone with Lee Minho, superhuman with accelerated regeneration, more than impressive combat skills, high intellect, and a sharp, silvery tongue.

“ _Sungiiiiiie_.”

Jisung inhales deeply before turning to face the hacker. It might have been more dramatic had Minho not still been tied to a chair. The older man tilts his head in confusion, one of the few actions he can manage with the loss of control over his limbs. Jisung forces his best “normal” smile on and walks back to the recliner right beside Minho.

“Did you mean it?”

The blonde looks up with a quizzical reaction. “Mean what?”

“Everything they said about you. That you wouldn’t have led them to me if you didn’t care about me.”

Jisung’s lips tighten, not because he doesn’t know the words to say, but because he knows he could be opening a rather nasty can of worms.

“I mean…yeah, of course. I’m sure you knew that doxing all those professors and students would have had severe repercussions. I wasn’t about to let you get into that kind of business, with or without my help.”

“So you sicced six guys in funny costumes on me?”

“To be fair, you’re _also_ in a funny outfit.”

“Hey!” Minho pouts and stares down at his suit. The bland, white light in his living room doesn’t play to the normally fanciful colors of the suit, and it just looks like a one-off iteration of something _Batman_ might have worn. “I quite enjoy this suit. I designed it myself.”

Jisung laughs softly. “…So you’re not mad that I pretty much double crossed you and told a bunch of randos your secrets?”

At first, a look of genuine thought flashes through his features. “…Honestly? I’m a little pissed, yeah. Will this feeling subside? Maybe. It’s just a bit early to tell.” A deep sigh escapes his lips but it’s enough for Jisung to lean in closer, like he wanted to hear nothing but his voice in even the silence of his apartment. “I can tell you and your little friends aren’t actually shady or snooty like the guys in my class. Except for the short guy; can I punch him again sometime?”

Jisung chuckled. “That’s not up to me.”

“Well…I suppose it _is_ kinda cool to meet other people that are just like me. But they’re all pretty flashy compared to me. Not that it matters because I can kick all their asses anyway.”

“ _Hyung_.”

Minho responds with a smirk. “I’ll behave. Just….just promise me that I’ll still matter when I’m in the club. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course.” Minho’s smirk melts into a sweet smile, one that Jisung’s seen at least once or twice before already. Not that it ever loses its magic touch. “So…we cool?”

The older boy then tilts his head and purses his lips a little too dramatically, as if feigning actual thought and concern. “Depends…are you going to untie me from this chair?” The coy little smirk returns to his face, easily giving away his playful nature.

“ _Hyung_ ,” the younger boy whined, slumping back in the recliner. “You know I can’t untie you. Who knows what you’re going to do once I let you out of my sight.” Jisung matched his smirk and crossed his own arms over his chest.

“Jisung, you’re so _cruel_ ,” Minho teased, throwing his head back limply and letting his already messy hair fall across his eyes. “Leaving a guy like me all tied up, and you’re not gonna do _anything_ about it? _Nothing_ at all?” That infectious smile of his had Jisung’s stomach turning, and his inability to lean any farther out of his chair was…pitiful, but in a cute way.

Instead, a laugh comes bubbling out of Jisung’s throat, and he shakes his head in Minho’s face.

“Then how do you want me to make it up to you?”

Minho shrugs while rolling his eyes in the most playful manner. “That’s up to you, Sungie. I have no control over this situation, _clearly_.” He wriggles like a snake against the rope binding him to the chair, if only to show the futility of trying to escape. “…Why don’t you show me a good time? Since I’m already strapped to this chair.”

There’s a tension that washes over Jisung, not unlike the first time he was alone in a room with the hacker, and that night _did_ end up with him bent over a table and the hacker deep inside him. But the stakes were different now, and instead of cowering away from the situation, Jisung decided to…weaponize that tension.

“And what exactly is a ‘good time’?” Jisung asks him, tilting his head coyly. “You want me to kiss you or something?”

Minho cocks his head tauntingly, almost like an invite. “Why don’t you hop onto my lap and see what sticks?”

Jisung’s nostrils flared; he wasn’t impulsive nor competitive, but he still liked a bit of a challenge. His tongue darted out to slide over his bottom lip. In that moment, he lost all control of his body, and before he knew it, he had all but flown out of the recliner to close the short distance between him and Minho.

They’ve kissed on more than one occasion since they first had sex at the engineering building, but for whatever reason, it didn’t occur to Jisung until now just how utterly _fantastic_ of a kisser Minho was. Especially now, straining against the rope like an animal and Jisung’s hands curled into the soft hair at the base of his neck. Now seeking stability, Jisung’s hand traveled to steady itself on his shoulder as he took his final position straddling the older boy.

“…We should have done this a long time ago,” Jisung murmurs against his lips, his clouded eyes staring right into Minho’s beyond his dark bangs.

“I said that last time, y’know.”

“And I’ll say it again, because it’s _true_.” Jisung wastes no time in crushing their lips together again, and he finds himself melting into Minho’s body as the clock continues ticking away.

A deep groan slips past Minho’s lips when Jisung pulls away to press soft, wet kisses to his jaw instead.

“…You’re hard,” Minho whispers, and the way Jisung giggles in his ear sends shivers down his spine.

“So are you.” Before Minho could manage a witty remark, Jisung grinds his hips down onto his, effectively rubbing their dicks together. There was something admittedly very kinky about two guys in leather suits making out on a chair, Jisung thinks to himself.

“Ha… _Han Jisung_ …” Hearing his name in Minho’s hoarse, gravelly voice only stoked the fire in his core. Jisung couldn’t help himself from letting his hands wander over the other boy’s chest, and his fingers came upon the zipper dangling at the very collar of Minho’s suit. He planted a few more kisses on Minho’s lips – stopping briefly to admire their plump and swollen look – as the metaphorical lightbulb flashed above his head.

Minho almost whines when Jisung suddenly pulls away, stepping right off of his lap and circling around the chair like a lioness.

“Hold still for a sec; I have an idea.”

It was difficult for Minho to see what was happening since the other boy was right behind him, but he could hear the sound of light scuffling and fiddling. Before anything else happened, the ropes binding his torso to the chair came loose, falling off of his chest and pooling around his waist. He let out a comfortable sigh as the ropes slithered away but grunted upon realizing his hands were still bound.

“Feel much better, right?” With a lazy, cat-like smile painted on his face, Jisung returned to his position on Minho’s lap.

“Better, but my hands are still tied,” Minho replied, perking up one of his eyebrows in combined intrigue and confusion.

“I know. But I had a _great_ idea.” Before the older boy could get another word out, Jisung had already resumed kissing him, tangling his small fingers in his hair.

Jisung knew he had momentarily suspended any suspicions Minho currently had, and even enjoyed feeling the older boy eagerly press their bodies together. _This is how it was meant to_ be, the younger boy thought, reveling in the sensation of their bodies rocking against each other. It wasn’t long before the both of them were breathing heavily on each other’s lips. A dull ache emanated from under his suit, and he knew that grinding against each other would only suffice for so long.

“…What are you wearing under your suit?” the younger boy breathed, stopping to stare at the glossy sheen on Minho’s lips.

Minho regarded him with hooded eyes as the corners of his lips quirked up. “Just my underwear. Why?”

“ _Perfect_.” He pecked him on the lips one last time before sitting back on his lap and grasping the aforementioned zipper within his fingers.

Despite the suit being sturdy and covered in armor, it unzipped quite easily, and Jisung wasted no time pulling the zipper all the way down to where it stopped – just past the waistband of Minho’s boxer briefs. His eyes wandered unabashedly over the skin and lean muscle revealed underneath; it was as if he was _Moses_ parting the Red Sea.

“… _God_ , you’re so hot,” Jisung muttered, his face scrunching into a cheeky grin like a child having opened up a Christmas present. He slipped his hands under the open suit, spreading it farther apart to see the greater expanse of Minho’s skin. “This isn’t fair at all.”

“Says the guy manhandling me while I’m tied to a chair.” A soft gasp slipped from Minho’s lips as the other boy pressed kisses against his neck. Daringly, Jisung sucked a wet patch onto his jugular, before peppering it with a feather-light kiss. A rosy red splotch remained on his otherwise unmarred flesh, but that only spurred Jisung to continue his ministrations.

Minho’s tongue darted out to swipe over his bottom lip; he had some idea of where this was headed and being restrained by the rope around his wrists made for an interesting twist. Still, he liked to play along and simply hummed pleasantly to the sensation of Jisung kissing his collarbone.

Truth be told, he was certain that Minho could hear just how hard and fast his heart was beating. Jisung was a complete _virgin_ before he’d met Minho, and yet…here he was, leaving a trail of hickeys down the older boy’s torso with the express purpose of getting to one destination on his body.

“Sungie, what are yo – _oooohhoohooohhh_ …” Even though he had his eyes trained on the blonde mop that could be considered Jisung’s hair, watching as he slowly descended down the length of his body, his eyes rolled into the back of his head when the younger boy promptly mouthed over his front of his boxer briefs. A split second after, Minho regained his senses and looked down to see Jisung pulling apart his suit at the base of the zipper, smothering his lips over the bulge in his underwear.

Minho nearly melted when Jisung innocuously looked up at him. His cock immediately twitched.

“Do you like it?” the younger boy muttered, a sly grin forming on his face.

“You’re gross. Keep going.”

Jisung hoped that his bravado wasn’t cracking. He still wasn’t sure what gave him the courage to attempt this, but he was too far gone to go back now. He swallowed the thick lump in his throat and momentarily slid a palm down the front of Minho’s body, admiring his lean build and reveling in the sudden tension of his form. He sucked at the outline of his cock, soaking the thin fabric with his spit and leaving a dark patch on the gray cloth. Jisung almost smirked upon hearing the shallow breaths coming from the older boy, and quickly hooked his fingers in the waistband of his boxers.

Minho inhaled sharply as his erection slipped out into the open. The air inside the apartment was cool, much cooler than the hot skin underneath his suit. He wasn’t the _biggest_ guy around, that’s for sure, but damn if he didn’t look quite large in Jisung’s tiny hands. Little Han Jisung kneeling in front of him and mere inches from his crotch – that was a sight Minho could get used to.

It was at that moment that Jisung hooked his hands behind his knees and tugged him closer, his bottom nearly halfway off the seat. A groan slipped out of him as he took the hacker’s throbbing cock into his hands and gave it a few experimental strokes, before finally leaning down and licking a stripe from the base to the head.

Jisung was slow with the uptake, lathering his cock with spit but not quite taking it into his mouth just yet. Still, the tension was enough for Minho to shudder, and he wasn’t sure if he was glad they were taking it slow, or if he’d rather be thrusting into Jisung’s pretty little mouth already.

“You’re really…taking your time with this… _fucking tease_ ,” Minho sputters, gazing down at the younger boy with lidded eyes.

_It’s because I’m a literal virgin and I’ve never sucked a dick before_ , Jisung thinks, but he’s not about to give Minho something to make fun of him about. “…Think of it as payback from when you bent me over that desk in the engineering building and almost rammed me into the drywall.”

“And you _loved_ it.”

“Yes. But I still got bruises from that.”

Minho bit down on his lip and purred, and damn if Jisung hadn’t experienced a much more tantalizing sight.

Jisung inhaled sharply, and without much warning, immediately swallowed Minho down until his nose was flush with the black curls at the base of his cock.

“ _Shit – ! J-Jisung…_ ”

All he could manage was to groan and throw his head back as Jisung began to bob his head, applying just the right amount of pressure to his thick erection. After what seemed like an eternity, the blonde pulled away to lap at his cock again, swirling his tongue around the head and leaving a thin string of spit hanging between it and his lips.

Jisung could feel the tremble of his powerful thighs as he kept his hands on them, trying to keep seated In the chair.

“I’m doing good, aren’t I? You wanna use my mouth real bad, _grab me by the hair, hyung_?”

The glowering look on Minho’s face is fierce, especially accompanied by the growl slipping out of his mouth, and Jisung immediately sees the raging inferno in his irises; he knows who’s in control right here.

He runs a hand through his hair, pushing the messy blonde locks out of his eyes before returning his mouth to his hard cock.

“Fuck…Jisung, you’re killing me.”

The blonde pulls off of him with a lewd yet satisfying _pop_ , letting Minho’s cock slip out of his mouth and land on his stomach with a smack. “That was just the beginning.”

* * *

It might have been a testament to the university’s expenses that the dining chair that Minho was still strapped to hadn’t broken yet, especially with the way Jisung was currently bouncing in his lap and whimpering like a pup.

Perhaps Jisung should have taken a bit more precautions before going ahead with this spur of the moment plan. And perhaps he should have appreciated Minho’s idea of bending him over a table, because at least that position didn’t feel like he was literally being split in half with every thrust. Minho, however, was doing relatively fine as he rolled his hips to meet him, reveling in the pulsing heat that was Jisung’s ass. He growled at the younger boy with a devilish smirk, enjoying the switch in their dynamic as Jisung’s stamina (or lack thereof) began to fail him.

“ _Hyung…hyung… M-Minho…_ ” Here he was, clutching onto the other’s neck for dear life as he haphazardly bounced in the older boy’s lap, his thick cock deeply spearing him on each downswing. “Ah! F-Fuck…!” His nerve endings felt like lava, and he was certain he was making a mess leaking onto Minho’s stomach.

Jisung moaned and slumped against his Minho’s body, exhaustion levelling him at such an early phase, and yet he was still rock hard and in need of release.

“Hyung…I…I _can’t_. This is…too much…I…”

“Jisung,” Minho whispered in a hoarse voice that almost sounded like an animalistic growl. There was only so much he could do aside from moving his hips up to meet the younger boy, and he would have made Jisung absolutely _beg_ for it if he had control over his arms. “You have to untie me.”

“You know I can’t – “ The older boy interrupted him by rolling his hips again, and the drag of his cock inside him was enough to make Jisung yelp.

“You wanna cum, right? Then untie me.”

Jisung weakly raised his head up from where he had been laying it on Minho’s shoulder and stared at him. The heat haze had only served to make him look that much more beautiful, and he didn’t hesitate to lean in for a sloppy kiss that Minho reciprocated all too eagerly.

“…Fine,” Jisung muttered after pulling away, lifting himself slightly and craning around to reach Minho’s wrists. He winced and grunted as he felt the hacker’s cock slipping out of him, leaving him momentarily empty.

After minimal difficulty, the last piece of rope binding his arms together finally loosened, and the other boy didn’t waste any time swinging his arms around and wrapping them around Jisung’s lithe frame. Jisung could feel the literal wind in his hair as he was hoisted up, barely taking notice of the chair toppling over and hitting the floor with a clatter and gasped as his back hit the leather cushions of his couch.

Minho hovered over him like an animal ready to feast but took the moment to ogle Jisung like an exquisite cut of steak. It was kinda cute in a way, seeing Jisung in such a debauched state. From the natural glow of his flushed skin to the way his golden blonde locks fanned around his face like rays of sunshine. He lay with his legs spread apart, mismatched socks still on his feet and his dick red and hard, leaking onto his own belly. His eyes traveled down to his hole, pink and glistening with lube and currently clenching around air. Oh, how he wanted to just _sink_ into that heat right that instant.

A timid whimper came from Jisung and he raised an arm to cover his red hot cheeks. Being spread open like this in front of Minho made him feel like an ant under a magnifying glass.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late to be acting shy, Sungie?”

Jisung squeaked as he peeked at the older boy from behind his wrist. An absolutely _starved_ look glazed over his features as he made a show of shrugging off each sleeve of his suit and shoving the hot, leather suit down to his thighs. _…God, I’m so fucked_ , Jisung immediately thought as he watched the thin smirk on Minho’s face get wider and wider.

“I…” His eyes flew open as Minho suddenly grasped both of his thighs and readjusted his hips, before sinking into him in one fell swoop. “ _S-Shit…! Ah!_ ” Jisung’s eyes shut tightly, enough for tears to prick at their corners, as Minho’s hard cock filled him all the way up once more.

“You might wanna hold on, babe,” Minho murmured softly as he leaned down and braced his hands on either side of the boy.

Jisung didn’t hesitate to sling his arms around his neck just as the other boy began moving at breakneck speed, not even giving him a chance to properly acclimate. He clamped down on his bottom lip in an effort to resist crying out loud. The sensation of Minho’s cock moving inside him set his nerves aflame, filling him and satisfying an ache that he didn’t even realize was there to begin with.

“ _Hyung …!_ ” He was about to cry again until Minho crushed their mouths together, effectively muffling his moaning. Jisung returned the affection fervently, instead crying and moaning into the older boy’s mouth like he’d been sating a thirst.

Minho pulled away for a brief moment to catch his breath and pressed his forehead against Jisung’s. “You’ve _got_ to be quiet, Sungie. Don’t wanna wake up your neighbors,” he murmured tauntingly, and Jisung would have understood him better had he not currently been ramming him into the couch.

“…K-Kiss me again? Please?”

The other boy rolled his eyes and scoffed, but obliged Jisung anyway.

They rocked together on the couch for just a bit longer, sweat and skin grinding and rubbing with such delicious friction. It wasn’t long before Jisung clamped a hand over his own mouth and came spectacularly, coating his own belly with his release. Minho followed not too long afterward, letting out a guttural groan into Jisung’s ear before spilling inside him and filling him up.

Minho couldn’t keep himself from collapsing onto the younger boy, and a small _oof_ emanated from Jisung when Minho’s arm hit him square in the chest.

“ _Hyung_ …”

“What?”

“You’re _heavy_.”

“Let me chill out for a bit…” Minho turned and planted kisses along Jisung’s jaw, causing the younger boy to squirm slightly.

“If I didn’t think you were so gushy, I would have never slept with you,” Jisung slurred as he turned his body to face him. He reached up and cupped Minho’s cheeks with tender fingers before leaning in for a soft kiss. Minho smiled against him and returned the gesture.

“You’re such a bad liar,” he murmured, pressing back intently against him. “You would still sleep with me regardless.”

“… _Yeahhh_. I would.” Jisung tightened his hold around his neck and snuggled close to him, and the both of them laid in comfortable silence for about an entire minute.

Minho shifted first, making to untangle himself from Jisung’s languid form. “…Jisung, I’m gonna need you to clench real quick.”

Jisung blinked and sat up to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Clench, Jisung. Your _ass_. I don’t think you want my cum staining this perfectly good couch.”

“O-Oh. Yeah, I can do that.”

Jisung winced slightly as Minho pulled out and held himself together as the older boy started parading around his apartment in only his underwear. After coaxing some directions out of the younger boy, Minho returned sometime later with wet towels and diligently wiped Jisung down.

“ _Jeez_ , you have got to start stocking up on condoms.”

Jisung sputtered and turned away in embarrassment. “I…never had a reason to.”

“Why? Because you’re such a _virgin_?”

He pouted in response but Minho simply laughed and scooped the smaller boy into his arms.

“Alright,” he drawled, matching Jisung’s sleepy expression. “Where’s your room?”

A loud yawn emanated from his mouth. “…Second…door on the right…”

The exhaustion was settling in far too quickly for Jisung, and he clutched at Minho’s shoulders in an effort to keep himself awake.

“What…? What are you doing?” Minho chuckled and stared at Jisung, whose eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets in a futile effort to stay awake.

“I untied you from the chair. I…I have to…make sure you don’t leave my sight…”

Minho laughed again as they entered the comfortable darkness of Jisung’s bedroom, and the younger boy almost began throwing a fit when Minho laid him down on his bed sheets.

“I’m not going anywhere, Sungie.”

“ _God, they’re gonna kill me when they find ou_ – huh, _wha_?” Jisung strained his eyes in the darkness but only managed to focus in on Minho’s face, sparsely illuminated by the streetlights streaming through his blinds.

“I’m sleeping in your bed tonight.”

The look on Minho’s face now was a far cry from that he’d laid his eyes on in the engineering building. A tender smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he’d never looked any more handsome than he did now, with the light playing off his sharp features and his tousled hair framing them.

Jisung sighed in exasperation and fell back against his sheets. “…I’ll deal with it in the morning.”

“Good. Now scoot over.”

The twin bed sitting in his bedroom was clearly not meant for more than one person, but Jisung didn’t quite mind digging into Minho’s warm body pressed into his back. His mind was all but mush now, but it was a good kind of mush, especially with Minho throwing his arms around his smaller frame.

“…G’night, hyung.”

“Good night, Jisung.”

* * *

“Are you sure he’s coming in today? Maybe he got lost. Or maybe we scared him too much this weekend.”

Seungmin popped another chip into his mouth and Jisung tried to ignore the sound of food crunching as he eagerly watched the door to the club room.

“He’s coming, I’m _certain_ of it. If he doesn’t, Changbin’s _actually_ going to kick my ass.”

“And wouldn’t that be a sight for sore eyes.”

“ _Seungmin_.”

The taller boy simply laughed and rolled up the chip bag before putting it away.

Jisung pouted and propped up his chin on his fists. “He _has_ to come. I made sure of it. I sent him the room number, a map, I even drew a little _line_ leading to – “

“And you don’t think that might have turned him off? Not even a little bit?” Hyunjin interrupts, sliding into the chair beside Jisung. “He really seems like a lone wolf kinda guy, y’know? And he’s kinda scary.”

“Hyunjin, a _lot_ of things scare you,” Seungmin jabbed, smirking at the boy from across the table.

“And Minho hyung is one of them,” he grumbled.

With a roll of his eyes, Jisung pushed himself off the desk and leaned back instead, crossing his arms tightly in front of his chest. “I know him better than everyone else here. And he’s not gonna back down _that_ easily. Plus, he told me he wanted to kick Changbin hyung’s ass.”

“Now _that_ I would pay good money to watch.” Seungmin and Hyunjin exchanged looks of agreement just as the door swung open for Chan.

“Good afternoon, everybody! Apologies that I’m a bit late _but_ I had an assignment I needed to turn in last minute. Now, if y’all could just settle down real quick, we can get started on this week’s meeting.” Of course, the room continued to be the normal amount of raucous that it normally was, but that didn’t stop Chan’s infectiously positive attitude. After setting his backpack down behind the podium, he leaned over the surface and looked over at Jisung. “So…how’s things with Minho? He’s coming today, right?”

Jisung pursed his lips and glared at the door, pondering upon the right course of words to go with. “…Well, I gave him the directions to the club room. He should be arriving, but the meeting is about to start…” He grimaced and averted his eyes.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Chan replied in an expectant tone. “I know you disobeyed my orders this past weekend when we came back to check on you both, but…” Chan paused to let out a defeated sigh. “I should be used to it now.”

True to their word, the others _did_ return to Jisung’s dorm the following morning…which ended in a mad scramble of the two getting their clothes back on after they’d severely overslept. The affair was equal parts amusing and embarrassing, but Minho did make well of his promise to stay the night after being untied by Jisung. Subsequently, Chan invited them all to have brunch at their favorite local café where – despite rocky and somewhat abrasive interactions with some of the members – Minho was able to properly introduce himself to everyone else.

“He didn’t seem like a completely bad apple from our little brunch date on Sunday, so I have no reason to expect that he’d ditch the meeting. Have a little faith in him.” Chan left him with a warm grin before standing up to address the room.

A deep sigh reverberates through Jisung’s chest but he considers Chan’s advice and tries to not to think too hard about it. Everyone behind him has begun settling down in their seats and even Changbin has taken his spot next to Chan, who has returned to the podium with that typical, dad-like smile of his.

Clapping his palms together, Chan makes to speak again when the door to the room swings wide open after a foot kicks it to the side.

“…Sorry, I’m late,” came a nonchalant, deadpan voice, the sound of which brought Jisung’s eyebrows up past his bangs.

Jisung and just about everyone else in the room quickly turned their attention over to the doorway, where Minho came stumbling in carrying a number of plastic bags, one full of drink trays and the other stuffed with various wrapped pastries.

“I forgot what everyone’s drinks were from Sunday so I kinda just…wung it? Winged it? Wang it? Whatever.”

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Literally.” Seungmin eyed the bags with pure interest.

“Heh, guess your boyfriend really did pull through,” Hyunjin whispered to Jisung with a chuckle, nudging him with an elbow.

The blonde responded by elbowing Hyunjin back, though there was nothing that could hide the luminescent blush spreading across his cheeks. “He’s _not_ my – “

“ _Whoa_ , hyung…you really didn’t have to,” Felix exclaimed from behind them, his jaw already falling ajar with surprise. “Are you really sharing some of that with us?”

“Yeah, is that for all of us?” Jeongin parroted, his face mimicking Felix’s expression.

“Aight, calm down everybody. We’ll get to it as soon as we’re done with the meeting,” Changbin remarked before turning to Minho as he approached Chan behind the podium. He shot the older boy a glance of disbelief, which Minho only responded to with a sly wink. Changbin rolled his eyes and concealed his animosity behind a smirk.

Chan’s unflappable grin could be seen from anywhere in the room, and especially now as he turned to Minho and extended a hand in welcome. “Ah, yes, the man of the hour. Glad of you to join us today. And I see you’re bearing presents.”

Minho shook his head and shrugged. “It’s nothing. Do I just sit anywhere or…?”

“Oh yeah, just take whatever seat you’re comfortable with and we can get going with the meeting.” He nodded curtly as Chan patted him on the shoulder like a supportive older brother.

Jisung watched Minho as he automatically made a beeline towards his desk, walking around and stopping right where Hyunjin was seated beside him.

“…Can I sit here?” he asked, gaze unflinching as he looked down at Hyunjin.

The tall boy’s eyes widened and he quickly rose from the chair, bowed with a quiet _of course_ , and immediately took the seat on the opposite side of Seungmin. The corners of his lips turned up as he took a seat right beside Jisung.

Even as Chan began speaking, the grin on Jisung’s face was indelible as he nudged Minho’s arm gently.

“…Hey.”

Minho blinked slowly before turning his head towards the blonde, his unreadable poker face still sporting that signature crafty smile of his. “Hey to you too.”

Their gazes held for seconds, which really felt more like minutes, until a polite triplet of knocks on the door drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Chan blinked and paused just as the door slowly opened. A girl with long, silvery hair and foxy features – suspiciously similar to that of Hyunjin and enough to make the boy’s eyes widen – popped her head through the door, surveying the room curiously.

“…Uh, hi! Is this the _Superhero Manga Appreciation Club_?”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for making it to the end of this absolute mammoth! before i go, let me leave you with some notes about the fanfic that i'm sure you might have questions about:
> 
> 1\. the boys' powers are as follows:  
> \- chan: time control (but only for a limited duration or else he suffers physical fatigue in proportion)  
> \- minho: enhanced regeneration (allows him to recover from bodily harm at an accelerated rate; has a side effect of making him extremely sturdy)  
> \- changbin: power absorption (think of him as being made of vibranium lmao)  
> \- hyunjin: cryokinesis (can create and control ice; does not actually grant immunity to the cold)  
> \- jisung: electrokinesis (can generate and manipulate electricity; does not include magnetism)  
> \- felix: pyrokinesis (sparky boom boom boy)  
> \- seungmin: telekinesis (control and manipulate solid matter with his m i n d)  
> \- jeongin: illusion (all perception though; can be broken easily)
> 
> 2\. lmao my inspirations for the boys "suits" are as follows:  
> \- chan: i wanted to evoke the look for a cool pilot uniform, like one of the really snazzy airforce outfits with the fur lined bomber jacket  
> \- minho: https://imgur.com/dSaRQpf but with a cat mask instead of a rabbit mask  
> \- changbin: totally biker, or more specifically god's menu on sbs 200621  
> \- hyunjin: imperial army officer straight out of a korean period drama but with more modern touches  
> \- jisung: night monkey with yellow trim and mumen rider helmet + goggles combo  
> \- felix: straight out of mad max with spikes, various reds, yellows, and earth tones  
> \- seungmin: knight in shining armor-esque :)  
> \- jeongin: totally just tuxedo mask
> 
> again, thank you for reading! please check out the other works in the bingo collection and stay safe out there~


End file.
